Harry Potter and the Means to No End
by sweet-dirty
Summary: The war is over. Harry can go back to his normal life. But what is a normal life? Sometimes, friendship can be found in an unexpected place/face: Draco Malfoy. And as troubles always seem to find Harry, he lands himself into a new adventure. With Draco.
1. Chapter 1

**Harry Potter**

**and**

**the Means to No End**

_**By Rachel**_

_**Rating: 18+**_

_**Warning: **__This is slash (fiction with male/male sexual involvement). This story contains explicit language and sex.  
If you don't like slash, please don't read these stories!  
If you are underage, don't read these stories._

_**Disclaimer:**__ All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended._

* * *

**The Battle of Hogwarts has been fought. The war against Voldemort is over. Harry can go back to his normal life. But what is a normal life? Sometimes, friendship can be found in an unexpected place and in an unexpected face: Draco Malfoy. And as troubles always seem to find Harry, he lands himself into a new adventure. And this time Draco stands on his side.**

* * *

_Chapter 1_

Harry gestured the bartender to fill his glass once more, then drained it in one. From the corner of his eye he saw a newcomer take a seat at the bar, but he didn't pay him any attention. Until he heard him swear.

"Merlin! That's disgusting!"

Harry closed his eyes for a second, then spoke to the other man. "Malfoy."

"Potter," Draco answered in the same flat voice, nodding his head slightly.

Harry waited for him to say more, but when the silence between them stretched on for minutes, Harry turned his head at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Could ask you the same. Didn't expect to see you here."

"I come here more often. Usually it's nice and quiet, never met anyone – like us before," Harry knew the Muggle bartender was always listening in to conversations, even as he was attending to other customers.

"You come here alone more often?" the surprise was evident in Draco's voice.

"Don't you ever want to be left alone?"

Draco remained silent as he rotated the empty glass in his hands. "You want me to leave then? Let you have this pub to your own?" he said eventually.

"Nah. It's okay," Harry shrugged his shoulders, surprising himself. He really didn't mind that Malfoy showed up. "What were you drinking?" Harry eyed the empty glass, remembering that he'd obviously hated the taste of the drink.

"I asked for the same as you."

Harry couldn't help but snigger, then turned to the bartender and asked him to refill their glasses once again. Draco made a movement to refuse, but Harry just smirked. He inclined his head to one of the deserted booths in the far corner of the pub, not pausing to see if Draco followed him. When they'd sat down opposite eachother, Harry lifted his glass and took a mouthful of the amber colored drink, showing that he enjoyed the taste. "Try it, I'm sure it tastes better the second time."

Draco chose not to down it in one, but also took a mouthful, but far more careful than Harry had done. His lips curled up in a surprised smile. "Firewhisky! I thought this was a Muggle bar?"

"Come on Malfoy! Are you telling me you can't cast a simple spell from under the table?" Harry said mockingly, but he mirrored Draco's smile, albeit unconsciously.

Draco snorted and broke eye-contact quickly the moment he realized he was staring into the emerald eyes. "How've you been?"

Harry rolled his eyes, not answering.

"What?" Draco said uncomfortably.

"Are you really asking how I've been? That would be as stupid as me asking you how you have been!"

"What? Why?"

"Isn't it plastered all over the papers? What I do from minute-to-minute, with in-depth interviews about how I'm feeling?" there was a bitter tone in Harry's voice all at once, his eyes downcast.

"I'm not stupid enough to believe anything that they write in the papers. But if I can't even ask an innocent question like that, I'll leave. Forget I walked in, and enjoy drinking on your own, Potter."

Draco was already halfway out of his seat when Harry's hand shot out instinctively, his fingers closing around the pale wrist. Draco stared down at it silently, but he made no movement to pull his arm back. Harry obviously fought for words and eventually he blurted out, "'Tis not so much fun drinking on your own."

Draco plopped back down on the seat, motioning the bartender to bring them the whole bottle. After downing two more glasses in silence, Draco cleared his throat. "Why would it be stupid if you asked me how I've been?"

"Aren't you in the papers every day too? Or at least your family?"

When Draco snorted, Harry looked up. He was shocked to see the look in the grey eyes. Bitter, ice-cold. The look he'd had in their first years of Hogwarts every time he laid eyes on Harry.

"You're not telling me you're stupid enough to believe everything they write, are you Potter?"

"I don't read newspapers anymore, at all. I just assumed ..."

The green eyes locked with the grey, they stared at eachother soundlessly, trying to feel eachother out. This was the first time they met since the day that Voldemort died many months ago, if you didn't count the day they met in the courtroom when Lucius Malfoy was sentenced to a lifetime in Azkaban.

"How have you been then?" Harry eventually asked, not breaking the stare.

"You really wanna know? Or are you just –"

Harry cut him off. "I'm not so much into courtesies lately. If I ask you how you're doing, I really wanna know."

"You got some time?"

"The whole evening," Harry shrugged, swirling the cold drink in his glass so the icecubes tinkled softly.

"Then care to tell me how you are doing? After all, you're the hero who should be celebrating every day, instead of drinking alone at a bar."

"I'm not alone," Harry's head snapped up, a defensive look at his face.

"You were until I walked in," Draco stated. "Hey, I'm not judging. I came in alone, too."

"You're not judging? You? That's not the Malfoy I know. You hate my guts."

"I did."

Harry glared at Draco, not sure what to think of the use of the past tense.

"Look, Potter. We're no highschool enemies anymore. But I'm not your therapist either, so I'm not gonna drag it out of you. There's three options, and you'd better choose quickly before I choose for you and I won't ever bother you again. One: you take some more shots and you spill what's bothering you. Two: you take some more shots and we just pretend all this shit didn't happen and we just have some fun. Three: I walk out of this door. Now."

Harry didn't pause to think, but took the bottle and refilled both their glasses.

Draco's eyebrows lifted. "Does that mean option one or two?"

"I'm not quite sure what you mean by option two, and I'm not by far hammered enough to find out."

"Obviously you're not the celebrating hero," Draco stated, but in quite a gentle tone.

"What's there to celebrate? All the trials I have to witness, identifying Death Eaters, bloody press on my heels wherever I go, people calling in all the time to ask me how I'm doing, complete strangers running up to me all the time to tell me how fabulous I am, breaking down to tears on the spot."

"Sounds like a big party. Your friends don't care to join in the fun?"

"Ron and Hermione ... they're at the trials too, and they and Neville and Luna and all the others are ambushed by reporters also, but they don't mind that much. It's new to them. It's been like this for me ever since I stepped in the Leaky Cauldron the day Hagrid told me I'm a wizard. I'm bloody sick of it. The fucking spotlight wherever I go. They want me to smile and be a role model. Nobody ever asked me if I wanted to be – that."

Draco refilled both their glasses once again, taking a sip thoughtfully. "Aren't Weasley and Granger together now?"

"Yeah, they are," Harry answered, a bit annoyed at the change of subject. He wasn't finished yet.

"How about you and his sister? The red-head?"

"It was good while it lasted, but no. Nothing between us, not anymore."

"Why? Wouldn't it be good to be able to share it all with someone? Or has it changed you too much? She's not been in it as badly as you were? Not able to understand it all? Or have you just lost interest in her?"

"Damn Draco! Did you murder the evil Malfoy and hid his body in the forest? Or is he still in there somewhere?" Harry waved his hand in front of Draco's eyes, staring at him as if to see into the back of his mind.

"Let's get to that later. You're not changing the subject Potter."

"I – it's a combination of it all. Yes, it's changed me too much, I can't just hang around with someone and have uncomplicated fun. And yes, I've plainly lost interest in girls."

The moment the last word left Harry's lips, he blushed scarlet. Draco didn't react to it, just nodded that he understood, that he should go on.

"And also ... not many people can possibly understand what it was like. Not really. They didn't actually face their own death. They didn't fear for their life every single day. Yes, of course people were scared and afraid they'd be fired or imprisoned or wandless, but they weren't certain that in the end they would either commit murder, or be murdered."

Draco shuddered when he heard the words being said without any compassion, but he remained silent, waiting for Harry to continue. Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes. When he spoke again, his eyes were unfocused, staring in the distance. "Not even Ron and Hermione, who were with me for so many months in hiding, not even they can understand what it really felt like."

They both downed another glass of Firewhisky, the bottle nearly empty.

"Have you ever talked about this to anyone?"

Harry put his glasses back on to look at Draco's face before he answered him. "To who? Who would really understand? Understanding words and pitiful looks is not what I want."

Draco looked at him pointedly. "Who could have gone through – well, not the same. But who had to commit murder on a powerful wizard, or get murdered himself? Who was forced into a fight he never wanted to be part in? Who feared for his life every single day?"

The look on Harry's face changed to pure horror when realization hit him. "You!" his voice was barely a whisper.

"Me."

"Poor young Draco Malfoy."

"Who're you calling young? Eighteen," Draco sneered. "But poor, yeah."

"You couldn't have expected anything else, right? The Ministry didn't have much choice but to close off your family vault," Harry snorted.

They poured the last bit of whisky in their glasses. "So? How have you been?" Harry repeated his earlier question.

"Don't look like you're visiting a dying man. As much as everybody expects you to be happy and celebrating, that much do they expect me to be sad and mourning."

"But you aren't?"

"I was dragged into it all by my father. Of course I loved him, but he was a cruel, vile man nonetheless. I don't have anything to do with my family anymore, and it feels like I'm finally free for the first time in my life. And you can't seriously think I'm sad that you killed the Dark Lord. It's true I'm all for preserving pureblood families, but not to the extend he wanted. I wasn't following him willingly, never free to speak my mind. When he lived at our Manor ..." Draco's voice shook and he shuddered visibly. Instinctively Harry put his hand on Draco's arm, squeezing him softly, reassuringly. When he realized what he did, he quickly withdrew his hand. Draco ignored his sudden movement and shrugged helplessly when he went on. "You know what it feels like when your mind is invaded. How humiliating it is when someone else sees your deepest thoughts, memories of something special, a look or a touch of a special person. When he saw it all, he gave me front row in anything dangerous. I was sure to get killed. If he could avoid it, he didn't kill any purebloods, but I had to be eliminated anyway. He was disgusted of me."

"Is that how you ended up nearly getting killed in the Room of Requirement?" Harry asked in a low voice.

"Yeah. If it weren't for you –"

Harry cut him off. "No, no. I do not want to hear how I saved another life. I owe my life to your mother, so as far as I'm concerned, we're even. And when we were caught by the Snatchers and Greyback and brought to your Manor with the stinging hex on my face, you refused to identify me, so I even owe you."

Draco stared at him, dumbfounded. "You're unbelievable."

"So ... what was it that made him want to kill you?"

"I thought you were smart, Potter. Despite your lousy Potions grades."

"Thank goodness! I thought you were going all soft!" Harry mocked him. "Come on, you can do much better, that wasn't even a real insult."

"Fuck you Potter."

Harry smirked, waiting for Draco to come up with something better. The silence stretched on though, and Harry thought of what Draco had said exactly. Voldemort had entered his mind and found thoughts that disgusted him.

"You had a secret crush on Hermione or something?" he blurted out.

Draco nearly choked on his last bit of whisky. "You've got to be kidding! What would I want with a Mu – Muggleborn?"

Harry knew he'd been on the verge of saying 'Mudblood' and he appreciated the effort Draco seemed to make not to offend him. He still couldn't understand why Malfoy seemed to be so normal, so ... nice, even. He understood now that it was also in his benefit that Voldemort had died, that it was good for him to be cut loose from his family ties. But why did he turn all friendly and understanding?

"I don't get why you're all friendly. You really hated me," he voiced his doubts.

"Am I? Friendly?" Draco quirked one eyebrow.

"You are to me."

"To you. Yes. Haven't we established earlier that we're about the only people on this bloody earth who have gone through the same?"

"You got a point there," Harry nodded.

"But if you're concerned about my _friendliness_, I could rub it in that I had to spell it out for you."

Harry let out a short laugh. "It would make me feel more at ease. It's quite disturbing to talk to you in a civilized way."

"I think it's quite disturbing that you still don't get what I meant. How many drinks have you had before I came in?"

"You wanna know how hammered I am? Come on," Harry stood up abruptly. He quickly took his wallet from his backpocket and paid the bartender, waving away the change. Draco followed his movements closely, but he didn't speak until they were outside.

"You know your way around with Muggle money."

"Actually, I'm living like a Muggle. That way I can avoid the wizarding world as much as possible."

"Why the hell would you want to do that?" Draco said with a disgusted look on his face.

"Nobody knows me. No people running up to me and worshipping me as their savior."

Draco started to laugh, but then realized Harry was serious.

"What?" Harry's face suddenly changed to a cheeky grin. "Don't you think I look good in my Muggle clothes? There's much more choice in them than in cloaks and robes, you know."

Draco allowed himself to look Harry over. He'd been taking secret glances at him all evening, but now he was finally allowed. Harry was wearing faded jeans that fitted around his hips snugly. And the leather jacket surely brought out his broad chest. He'd definitely changed in the last few years.

"Stop looking me up and down. Your clothes could pass for Muggle clothes too," Harry's eyes raked over the other man, noticing the black pants and grey shirt that matched his eyes perfectly.

Draco tore his eyes away, happy that there wasn't much light on the streets they were walking. "Where are we going anyway?"

"You wanted to know how hammered I am. So I thought we could duel."

"Are you out of your mind?" Draco spluttered. "What if Muggles –"

"Not here, you moron. I thought you were smart. Almost as smart as me."

They were so busy glaring at eachother, that they didn't notice the garbage bins lined up on the pavement and walked right into them. They both stumbled and just avoided falling over by grabbing hold of eachother.

"Damn. Both a bit hammered then?" Harry snorted.

"Probably. So? Where are we going?"

"My house of course."

"What? I thought Black left you Grimmauld Place? That's nowhere near here!"

"I don't live there. Have you ever been inside there? It's a ghastly house."

Draco felt a shudder run down Harry's body and realized they were still holding on to eachother's shoulders. He pulled his hands back like he'd burned them, losing his balance again. Harry sniggered and steadied him by putting his hands on his waist. "I'm so gonna win the duel Malfoy."

"You'd wish Potter," Draco glared at him and walked on, trying to let his blush come off as an angry look.

"This way," Harry sniggered even louder when Draco stalked off in the wrong direction.

* * *

"Welcome to my humble home."

"Nice," Draco nodded when he saw the two-bedroom-apartment.

"I expected you to comment on how small it is," Harry replied surprised, swaying slightly when he took off his shoes and coat.

"You haven't seen my place."

"Right," Harry now remembered him saying that he didn't live in the Malfoy Manor anymore. He waved his hand at the couch in the living room, gesturing Draco to have a seat. He went into the kitchen and pulled a new bottle of Firewhisky out of his fridge, along with two glasses. He plopped down on the couch uncoordinated, shoving the glasses in Draco's hands and filled them. When Draco slammed his empty glass to the table and stood up, Harry looked up at him hazily.

"Come on! It was your idea to duel. You'd better take off your glasses though, don't want you to get hurt."

Harry grinned stupidly and took them off when he stood up. "Are you kidding me? How can I aim a curse at you when I can't even see you clearly?" he quickly slammed them back on his head, wincing as he hurt his nose.

"Why do you even wear those ugly glasses?"

"You think I look better without them?" Harry grinned, swaying on the spot.

"I didn't say that."

"But you meant it."

"What if I did?" Draco said defensively, inconspicuously trying to lean to the couch for support. Harry frowned and leaned closer to him, looking into the grey eyes. Draco backed away a bit, frightened by his closeness. He felt himself lose balance and tightened his grip on the couch. "I think we'd better cancel the duel. Don't want to wreck your whole apartment."

"It's been wrecked before. I'm getting quite good at repairing spells," Harry shrugged his shoulders unconcerned. "But yeah, we should call it off. I ain't that good at healing spells. How the hell did I come up with the idea of a duel anyway?" he grinned when they both sprawled on the couch clumsily.

"I wanted to know how hammered you are."

"Oh I'm hammered. Just as bad as you," Harry laughed, lightly slapping Draco's arm. "Want another drink?"

"Sure. We're gonna regret this in the morning though."

Harry responded by filling their glasses once again before they sank back in the cushions. There was something nagging in the back of his mind. What had they said just before they left the pub? Why had Draco wanted to know how hammered he was? Right, he'd told him about Voldemort seeing something in his mind that disgusted him. Memories about a special person. It wasn't about Muggle-borns. Draco definitely wasn't into Muggle-borns, he'd made that clear. Then what could possibly – Harry's heart skipped a beat when he realized what Draco had meant to say all along. What those looks had meant. Draco was gay.

Harry's heart stopped altogether when he turned his head and looked into the grey eyes that were much closer to him than he'd expected.

* * *

Author's note [May 3rd 2011]:

Yay! I managed to separate this story into chapters, instead of posting it as one hell of a long one-shot! Special thanks to Aeromance for the description how to do it :)

Thanks to everybody who left a review so far, I really really appreciate it! A sandwich-hug from Harry and Draco for all of you!


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

Harry woke up to a throbbing headache. When he finally found his glasses, he carefully squinted around, shielding his eyes from the bright light. His room was even messier than usual, a lamp lay broken on the floor and the clothes he had been wearing yesterday were scattered all around. He pulled himself up into a sitting position, wincing as he felt his body protesting and aching all over. Since when did a hangover feel like this?

He fell back in the mattress, swallowing away the nauseous feeling. Flashes of white-blond hair and a familiar smirk ran through his head and he felt his stomach churn when he remembered how he'd ran into Malfoy in the pub. He'd taken him home. He'd found out that Malfoy was gay. But after that ... everything was a blur. He opened his eyes once again and scanned the room for any evidence that the other man was still there, but he didn't find anything. A mingled feeling of relief and disappointment seeped through his body. Did Malfoy stay the night? Did they ... He looked down and saw the messed up bed, traces of stickiness on the sheets. At least one person had come. Had he fucked him? And he'd left without – anything?

Harry gingerly got out of bed and took a short tour through his apartment. No message anywhere. And no evidence that Malfoy had actually stayed the night. It was likely that they'd shared the bed, at least. They'd been drunk beyond belief, Malfoy had a delicious body _and_ he was gay. And his muscle ache didn't just appear out of nothing, right? He shuffled into the bathroom and turned on the shower, trying to wash off the dirty feeling.

It was also possible that nothing happened though. That Malfoy had gone home, and he'd jerked off in bed. It wasn't likely, but possible all the same.

Halfway through the shower, Harry suddenly realized what day it was. He was supposed to be at the Ministry, together with Ron and Hermione, to give their statement about another Death Eater case!

He panicked, jumping out of the shower, then jumping back in to rinse the shampoo from his hair. He ran from the bathroom to find the nearest clock. Just as he expected, he was late. Half an hour already. He raced back to his bedroom, toweling himself dry on the way and grabbing the first clothes he found in his closet. He didn't have to bother finding himself some breakfast, he was feeling queasy at the mere thought of food.

Apparating made him queasy too, he found out the moment he arrived at the Ministry. He took some shuddering breaths, praying he wouldn't vomit right there and then.

"Harry! You're late!" Hermione squealed. Harry winced at the sound.

"You look dreadful mate!" Ron stated, clapping his hand on his shoulder, making Harry wince again.

"Thanks. That's exactly how I feel," he grimaced and followed his friends.

Hermione gave him a searching look, seeing his unsteady walk. "You're not coming down with the flu, are you? You want me to find you a potion for it?"

"Let's get our statements down first."

Hermione shrugged her shoulders and informed him on the latest news. Or at least that's what Harry presumed, because he couldn't focus on her chatting. Fragments of Malfoy, Harry's hands on his hips, sitting too close together on his couch flashed through his mind.

He shook his head as if to get rid of water in his ears when he thought he even heard Malfoy's voice. He stopped dead in his tracks when he realized he hadn't been imagining it, and found himself staring at the blonde across the room. Malfoy didn't look hung-over. In fact, he looked mouth-watering in his dress pants and white button-down shirt. Harry let out a groan when Draco slowly turned his head and his eyes locked with the green ones.

"I know. Not your lucky day," Ron said sympathetically, misinterpreting Harry's groan. Draco turned back to his conversational partner with a blank face.

* * *

When they were finished at the Ministry a few hours later, Draco still hadn't shown any sign of interest in Harry. He mustered all his Gryffindor-courage and stepped up to the youngest Malfoy. "Can I have a word with you?"

Draco shot him an evil glare, then shrugged his shoulders.

"What do you want Potter?" he said in a rude voice when they'd found a deserted corridor. Harry stared at him, taken aback. Had he imagined it all? That they'd talked, been friendly to eachother? No, that part had definitely happened.

"What's the matter? I thought it worried you when we conversed in a civilized way. Isn't this much better?" Draco sneered. "By the way, you look like shit."

"How come you don't have a hangover?"

"There's potions for that, you know."

Harry looked into the cold, grey eyes. "You could have left some for me."

"What makes you think I stayed till the morning?"

"You didn't?" Harry felt disappointment settle in the pit of his stomach.

"Do you even remember anything from last night?" Draco's eyes seemed to bore into the back of Harry's mind.

"Did we ...?"

Draco snorted. "You don't remember anything."

"I remember that you were friendly."

"Well, we all have an off-day now and then," Draco stalked off, leaving Harry even more confused than before they'd talked.

"Come on, let's get some lunch. You look like you could use some food. Or at least a drink," Hermione said concerned when he met up with her and Ron. Draco was nowhere to be seen anymore. Harry turned a bit paler at the mention of a drink, but followed them anyway. He didn't even have the energy to argue with her.

"You're gonna tell me exactly what's wrong, and then I'm gonna get you a potion for it," Hermione sat down on opposite him in a lunchroom, Ron next to her.

"Don't bother," Ron pointed at the owl that landed neatly in front of Harry, a vial with a purplish potion tied to its leg.

"Wait. What is it?" Hermione said sharply, but Harry had already downed the drink after he read the inscription.

"Hangover potion." A tingling feeling spread from his stomach all through his body, down his arms and legs and to the top of his head. His hair stood on end for a few seconds, then returned to his previous messy state.

"Cool," Ron grinned, "never seen a hangover potion do that though."

Harry returned the grin, his body feeling perfectly okay. The headache and nausea had completely vanished.

"Me neither," Hermione snatched the vial from Harry's hand and sniffed it. "Weird. It's like they've added Jasmine. Why would anyone do that? It's usually used for muscle ache."

The moment he heard his friend say it, Harry realized that his muscle ache had also vanished. There was no doubt this potion was sent by Malfoy. Harry's spirit lifted when he thought that Malfoy's unfriendly words maybe were just meant to hide his confusion. Something definitely happened between them.

"Yo! Harry!" Ron waved his hand in front of Harry's eyes.

"What?"

"I asked what you did yesterday."

"He got drunk," Hermione rolled her eyes. "You didn't go out alone to that Muggle bar again, did you?"

"I met someone," Harry failed to hide his grin when he looked from Ron to Hermione. Ron high-fived him and wiggled his eyebrows. Before Hermione could start interrogating him, Harry continued with a smirk. "It's probably not a keeper though. I don't exactly remember much from last night."

"Well that doesn't matter. I'm glad you finally had some fun. Speaking of fun, we wanted to have a Halloween party. It's in a few weeks," Ron said.

"Smooth," Hermione shook her head smiling.

"I'm not gonna help throwing a party."

"All you have to do is get a costume. Oh, and we need a location. We thought we could use Grimmauld Place?" Ron said casually.

"Why?"

"It's perfect! It's got a spooky atmosphere that's great for Halloween and it's big enough."

"How many people are you inviting?" Harry squeezed his eyes suspiciously.

"You know, just a few. From our Hogwarts year and a few above and a few below. Quidditch teams, DA members, all those, you know."

"I don't have much of a choice, do I?" Harry asked Hermione, ignoring Ron who was still summing up people they'd invite.

"Of course if you really don't want it ..." she said, trying to hide the disappointment in her voice. "We'll do everything! We'll decorate the house, send out the invitations, take care of the catering and all!"

"Really, you don't have to do anything if you don't want mate!" Ron nodded, helping his girlfriend.

"Just get a good costume," Harry grumbled. He felt cornered by his friends, he didn't have much choice but to agree with the plan.

"You can get away with anything Harry. As long as you bother to dress up at all."

"Anything?" a nasty idea sprang to his mind. Payback time!


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

"Oh come _on_ Harry! If the Invisibility Cloak is your costume, it's not funny!" Hermione whined when Harry startled her for the third time. The Halloween party was a big success, most of the invited people turned up. Neville and Luna were a big help, taking turns to stand guard at the door to check that nobody without an invitation got inside. Harry's name still attracted lots of attention, and various reporters had already been kicked outside unceremoniously.

"No? It adds to the spooky atmosphere when you squeal from time to time," Harry answered softly laughing.

"People are starting to ask where you are."

"They'll see me soon enough. I just enjoy staying invisible for a while before all the spotlights turn back to me, okay?"

Hermione began to answer, but Harry had already left her standing, seeing someone new enter. "Don't you have to be bitten first to become like this?" he said in a low voice, stroking a cloak-covered finger down the pale neck of the man dressed up as a vampire. Draco shuddered and turned around, his eyes flashing everywhere to discover the source of the voice. Harry dashed from the room, knowing his chuckles would give him away.

A while later he found Malfoy again, wandering around the house curiously like most guests did.

"Didn't you prefer the Muggle whisky?" Harry said in a low voice when he noticed the glass of Firewhisky in Draco's hand. Draco jumped scared, pulling out his wand. After a few seconds he lowered it, scowling. "You really have an Invisibility Cloak then, Potter?"

"Some of the rumors are true, yes," Harry pulled off his cloak, stepping up in front of Draco, who gasped in horror. After a second he composed himself and looked Harry up and down.

"So? What do you think?" Harry turned around, spreading his arms to show off his costume.

"It's a real one, isn't it?" Draco suppressed a shudder.

"Yeah."

"Only you could get away with this Potter," Draco frowned.

"I know," Harry knew there was a cocky smile on his face, underneath the mask. "Oh come on Malfoy! Don't you appreciate the joke? Come on! If we enter the party downstairs together, I'm sure it'll be a blast!"

Harry wondered if he'd gone too far when everybody fell silent, gasps of horror bouncing off the walls in an eerie way.

"Show yourself!" Ron pointed his wand straight at his heart, stepping in front of Hermione protectively.

"_Expelliarmus_." Draco caught Ron's wand neatly, stepping in after Harry in his Death Eater robes and mask. More gasps of horror went through the room like a light breeze, but then George stepped up. His eyes scanned the room once, then he started to laugh loudly. "Brilliant! That's a really good one Harry!"

Harry burst out laughing loudly too when Draco handed an astonished Ron his wand back. Harry turned on his heels and left for the kitchen, his laughter echoing in the hallway, setting off Sirius' mother for the hundredth time this evening. He'd just poured himself and Draco a new drink when Hermione and Ron came running in.

"Harry! That is so not funny! You ass!" Hermione punched his arm livid. "I really thought – "

"I think it was pretty good. Made an impression," Harry slid his mask up to take a sip of his whisky, enjoying the liquid burning down his throat. He'd already had a couple of glasses earlier and he was enjoying a pleasant buzz. "Pasty anyone?" he summoned a plate with assorted pasties when Katie and Luna joined them. Draco smirked at him and went over to some former Slytherins he recognized.

"Bloody hell Harry! I really thought you were a Death Eater! Especially when Malfoy showed up too," Ron beamed at him, then shot Draco a nasty look across the room.

"It's quite brilliant. Just as George said," Katie giggled.

"You really thought he was a Death Eater? Why would you think that?" Luna said with a puzzled expression.

"Because of the way he looks!" Ron rolled his eyes at her.

"Yeah but it's just Harry." Luna drifted away, leaving them all stunned.

"She even recognized me when I had taken Polyjuice Potion on Bill and Fleur's wedding," Harry suddenly remembered. "She's much cleverer than you'd give her credit for."

"That's why she was in Ravenclaw," Neville stated as if he'd always known she was smart.

Ron edged closer to Harry, whispering. "Give me your Cloak. I wanna scare the crap out of Malfoy."

"You just wanna pick a fight."

"Yeah," Ron said eagerly.

"If you want to fight, take Hermione. It'll be fun to see her take revenge on you." Harry smirked and slid his mask back on his face, leaving his best friends to mingle with the rest of the guests. His eyes strayed invariably across the room to rest on the white-blonde head. He hadn't remembered anything more from the night Malfoy had gone home with him, and he wanted to know if the other man did remember anything of it. They hadn't spoken since the morning after at the Ministry, but Harry was quite sure that Draco would still be nice to him, despite his harsh words. Why else had he sent him the hangover potion that had also released him from his muscle ache?

He snapped back to reality when he felt the sleeve of his left arm slide up on its own account. His eyes scanned the room and rested on the vampire, who was looking at his arm intently, his wand concealed in his sleeve. Harry lifted up his sleeve a bit further to show the blank inside of his lower arm, then shook his sleeve back down.

"Looks like you forgot one thing in your outfit," he heard behind him a couple of minutes later.

"I didn't think I'd need it."

"You didn't think you'd need it."

"You're the first one undressing me to search for marks."

To Harry's satisfaction, a blush crept up Draco's pale cheeks.

"I can give you one," Draco slid Harry's mask up with a flick of his wand. Harry's breath hitched and he felt himself stir in his pants when he looked into the grey eyes up close. "I can draw the Dark Mark on your arm. You're so daft, Potter," he added when he saw Hermione coming their way.

"Not with a quill! And definitely not with your wand!" she warned when Harry stalked off after Draco. He quickly looked around the empty hallway before he followed the vampire into a deserted upstairs bedroom.

"What's that?" Draco pulled up his nose.

"It's a Muggle invention. A water-resistant black marker," Harry handed him the marker and leaned with his back against a desk, rolling up his sleeve.

"A marker to draw the Mark?" Draco laughed softly, approaching Harry and pulling up a chair. He ran his fingers up and down Harry's exposed skin a few times. Harry's other hand gripped the desk tightly, his knees all wobbly all of a sudden.

"Are you sure it won't damage your skin?" Draco's face screwed up in disgust when he uncapped the marker and the pungent smell reached his nose.

"Yeah, it'll be fine," Harry said through clenched teeth, trying to control the heavy shivers that threatened to run up his arm, starting exactly where Draco was holding his wrist.

"Hold still Potter."

At first Harry's look followed Draco's slow movements, the black lines appearing on his lower arm, but then he saw Draco's eyes flicking to the left a few times. He'd never been more happy to be wearing wide robes when he felt himself getting hard, as that was exactly the height Draco's eyes rested. He closed his eyes, trying to think of something completely different, but failing completely. All he could think of was Draco's fingers on his naked skin and the fact that they were alone.

"How much did you drink?" Draco said softly when Harry swayed on the spot.

"Not nearly as much as – you know," Harry's eyes snapped open, focusing on the opposite wall to keep standing.

"Are you sure?"

"Really sure. I wanna be able to remember everything tomorrow morning."

"You really don't remember anything?" Draco kept on drawing slowly, carefully.

"Do you?"

"Yeah. Every minute."

"Did we fuck?" Harry blurted out. Draco remained silent for a few minutes, Harry didn't dare to look at him. He didn't want to know what kind of look was on Draco's face, and if he was looking up at him.

"Fuck as in you reaming my ass? No," he eventually answered.

"And the other way around?"

Draco burst out laughing. "You would have felt that the next day."

Harry felt himself blush furiously, realizing what he meant. "Thanks for the potion the next day," he mumbled.

"Did you appreciate the Jasmine?"

"You knew I had muscle ache all over, didn't you?"

"What did you think I had?" Draco looked up, smirking. Their eyes locked for a few seconds, until Harry looked away.

"So we did do ..."

"A whole lot of other things yeah," Draco pretended to study the drawing on the other man's arm, but he couldn't stop his face turning scarlet. "Finished." He threw the marker on the desk and left the room, almost fled it.

* * *

Harry slowly turned around when he felt someone's eyes on him. It was the second time he caught the vampire staring at him and he felt the tension between them building gradually. He left for the kitchen to mix a strong Bloody Mary.

"Is that for the vampire?" Luna drifted in after him.

"Yeah, it is. Will you give it to him?" Harry smiled at her fondly.

"That's nice of you. I never believed that Draco Malfoy and you really hated eachother."

"I bet you didn't."

"Are you trying to get me drunk?" Malfoy appeared at his side minutes later, speaking in an undertone.

"Do I have to get you drunk first?" Harry pulled his mask off and grinned at him.

"Stop that. Everybody's watching," Draco mumbled and turned to walk away, but before he could, Harry shoved something at him. When Draco looked down, he found the silvery cloak in his hands.

"I'll show you mine if you show me yours," Harry heard the familiar drawl behind him a couple of minutes later. He slid his mask over his face and leaned to the wall casually, as if he was watching the people dancing. He didn't know exactly where Draco was, but he knew he was near and hidden under the Invisibility Cloak.

"My what?" he said in a suggestive tone.

"Whatever you want to show to me."

An excited shiver ran up Harry's spine when he heard the answer, but he forced himself not to get carried away. "Yeah? Is that why you came to this party?"

"I came because you invited me. Why did you invite me?"

"I enjoyed talking to you. I hoped we could do that again. It makes a good change from all the people giving me adoring looks and swooning on the spot when I merely smile at them."

"You'll have to kill me if you ever catch me doing that," Draco sniggered. Before Harry could answer, he got dragged away by some of his old friends. He laughed when Lee told a funny story, but his eyes kept on scanning the room. His breath hitched when he felt a hand in the small of his back.

"Looking for someone?" he heard a whisper in his ear. Harry smirked, pushing back slightly at the hand. He felt his shoulders make contact with Draco's chest, but he pulled away startled when Luna waved her hand in front of his eyes.

"Wrackspurt got you?"

"Uhm. Yeah, I guess so," Harry nodded, straining his ears for any sound of Malfoy. He wasn't disappointed.

"Meet me in the hallway."

The moment Harry managed to get away from his friends with the excuse of the bathroom, he felt his own Invisibility Cloak being pulled over his head.

"They don't leave you alone for a minute, do they? Have you always been this popular, Potter?" Draco sneered. The blond had always been slightly taller, so Harry had to look up now that they were standing nose-to-nose under the cloak.

"My name's Harry."

Draco rolled his eyes and slowly stepped forward, pushing back Harry's hood and discarding the mask completely. Harry instinctively stepped backwards until he was pressed with his back to the wall.

"I thought Gryffindors were brave."

"Gonna bite my neck, vampire?"

"Try and stop me," Draco showed him his perfectly white teeth and bent down to press his lips to Harry's neck. Harry didn't exactly try to stop him though, he rather bent his head backwards a little to expose his neck some more. When Draco's teeth gently sank into the soft skin, Harry whimpered.

"I bet this cloak doesn't muffle sounds," Draco whispered in his ear. Harry nodded, unable to speak when the blond resumed the abuse of his neck.

"Maybe I should get you drunk first. Then we can do this over and over again, if you don't remember any of it anyway," Draco purred in his ear, swiping his tongue over the outer shell. Harry's hands fisted the blond's robes, pushing him back slightly. He took a deep breath and hoped he had his voice under control when he whispered back at him. "Well, you disappoint me Malfoy. I expected you to be good. But if you're convinced I'm only letting you do this again if I don't remember any of it ..."

Draco stepped back, a look of horror on his face.

"I thought Slytherins were sly and that they could look through –" Harry's sentence got cut short and the grin wiped off his face when Draco pressed their mouths together hard.

"Damn! Careful, will you? Don't leave visible marks on me," Harry pushed him away, feeling his lip gingerly. "At least not as long as the party's not over."

"I can make sure the party's over in a few minutes."

"Oh no you don't! You'll just have to have some patience," Harry shook his head vigorously, then laughed softly when he saw the dirty look on Draco's face. "It won't hurt you."

"It won't? It's kind of painful already," Draco grimaced, pushing his erection into Harry's belly. "You could also let the party break up. Just tell everybody you have something better to do."

"Or someone better?" Harry slid his hand up Draco's chest, his fingers lightly brushing the pale skin on his throat and neck.

"You wanted to get rid of your good-boy-image, right? Let the whole world know that the Golden Boy is actually a Pink Boy. Harry Potter's gay."

Harry clapped his hand over Draco's mouth when two girls passed them in the hallway. "Damned Malfoy!" he scowled when they'd disappeared, ducking out from under the cloak.

"You'd better pull your hood back up, you've got a hickey in your neck. And my name's Draco," he whispered smugly, leaving Harry flustered and fumbling with the hood.

* * *

"Will you make them leave now?"

Harry barely concealed his grin when he heard the frustrated whisper in his ear. The party was finally over, but Hermione had insisted on staying until the last guests had departed, and now she was fussing over Harry.

"Ron, will you please take her home?" Harry called at his friend.

"But will you be okay? Alone? I don't like leaving you in this house all alone. Why don't you –"

Ron cut Hermione off when Harry let out an exasperated sigh. "She hoped you'd hook up with someone."

"That's why you invited that many people? So that I had plenty choice?" Harry cornered her. She had the decency to blush when she nodded.

"Too bad you didn't invite anybody I'm interested in."

"No?" she said disappointed.

"That doesn't say there wasn't anybody here that I'm interested in," Harry smirked, throwing his hood back.

"That's a good one. Who'd you hook up with then?" Ron laughed loudly when he saw the hickey, grabbing Hermione's hand and pulling her towards the hallway.

Harry grinned at him. "Just leave already!"

His breath hitched when he felt two hands circling around his waist from behind, just when his friends turned around at him at the front door.

"Okay, okay. Have fun with whoever is hiding under your Invisibility Cloak. And you'd better tell me who it is soon!"

"Sure!" Harry rolled his eyes and locked the door behind them. He could feel the suspense in the air when he waited, his face still turned to the door. He breathed heavily when he saw two pale hands unfasten his Death Eater robes and dropping them to the floor.

"Robes are mighty handy to cover this up," Draco whispered in his ear and brushed one hand over the front of Harry's tightened pants, "but it's a shame it covers this up also." His hands slid out of sight, cupping Harry's ass in a firm grip. Harry leaned back until he felt Draco's chest pressing to him. He whimpered when he felt Draco's lips on his neck, nibbling the skin softly.

"Are we gonna stand here all night, or are we gonna get some action?" Draco whispered in his ear, giving his ass another squeeze. Harry turned around, locking eyes with the blonde. A leering smile was lingering on his lips, and Harry looked up at him insecure. Draco bent down and let their lips lock in a slow kiss. He circled his arms around the dark-haired man, pulling their bodies together. When he sucked in Harry's lower lip and ground his body against him at the same time, Harry responded by wrapping his arms around him. He parted his lips slightly, waiting to see if Draco would want to deep-kiss him. He wasn't disappointed when he felt the blonde's tongue tracing his lips, then dipping in. Harry kissed him back cautiously, their tongues swirling and darting back and forth between their mouths. When Draco pulled back, he eyed him warily.

"Are you sure you want this?" Draco asked softly.

"Yeah, yeah I do."

"Then why are you so ... well, not enthusiastic?"

"I – I'm just afraid I do something wrong, you know. This is the first time I'm with – a guy."

Draco laughed softly. "Technically, it's the second time. We did all this before. You were a bit more enthusiastic though, we even fell off the couch. I wouldn't be surprised if you had a big bruise," Draco's hand ghosted over Harry's shoulder blade.

"Uhm. Right. Well, I was a bit more drunk back then. In fact, I don't think I'm drunk at all right now," Harry said shyly. Draco grinned and took his hand, pulling him to the kitchen. He poured him a healthy shot of the first liquor he came across.

"Your buzz wore off. Drink this," he smiled. Harry did as he said, wondering if Draco had been this nice last time. If he'd smiled at him like this. He liked to see Draco smile. When he poured down the last bit, he wondered when he started calling him 'Draco' in his mind, instead of 'Malfoy'. When Draco took the empty glass from his hand smiling, Harry's mind raced back to the thought that he liked the blonde's smile.

"Why don't you smile more often?" The words had escaped his lips before he knew it. Draco's friendly smile changed to an amused smirk. "Quick effect, that drink."

"It didn't taste very good though. I don't think I wanna know what it is. Or I do, so that I won't buy it again."

"Let me help you erase the taste," Draco stepped a bit closer.

"What?"

"Shut up Harry," Draco mumbled against his lips, then locked them together. He moved one hand to the back of Harry's neck, softly scratching the skin. Harry's hands moved up Draco's face, cupping his cheeks and kissing him back eagerly. Their tongues battled, soft moans escaping their lips as they broke apart. Harry's chest was heaving as Draco's lips brushed over his jaw to his neck, softly licking the hickey he'd made earlier. "Upstairs?" he breathed, his hand finding Harry's. The dark-haired man drew a shuddering breath and lead the way to the bedroom. They resumed the hungry kissing as soon as the door closed behind them. The room was scarcely lit by the full moon shining in through the window. Harry pulled out his wand to light some candles, but Draco's fingers closed around his wrist to stop him.

"I want you to take off your glasses," he whispered in Harry's ear. "And it wouldn't be fair if only one of us could see properly, would it? We'll do everything on taste and sense."

A violent shiver ran up Harry's spine when he heard the words whispered in Draco's husky voice.

"Is the idea that bad?"

Harry shook his head and put his wand away, looking at the blond hair and pale skin that seemed to glow in the moonlight. Draco looked back at him, gently removing his glasses, then showering his face in kisses.

"That ugly?" Harry couldn't help asking.

"You're beautiful," Draco murmured, continuing his journey over the younger man's face.

"I meant the glasses. You mentioned before that you don't like them."

"You really need to learn when to shut up," Draco gave an exasperated sigh.

"Sorry," Harry mumbled, his eyes downcast.

"Damn, Harry. You're gorgeous, you're sexy ... why are you so insecure?"

"I am?" the green eyes shot up, locking with the grey in shock.

"Hell yes! You're hot! Why do you think I chose you? There were enough hot guys at this party tonight."

"I – there were hot guys? Why didn't _I_ see?"

"Hey!" Draco said indignantly. "Are you having second thoughts about me?"

"No, no! I wouldn't trade you for – anyone. You're all I could think of all evening." The words were out before Harry knew it.

A pleased smile settled on Draco's face and he let his hands walk up Harry's chest, feeling the muscled torso underneath the shirt. "That's good to know. Now turn your words into action, Golden Boy."

"I thought you named me the Pink Boy," Harry mumbled when he brushed his lips over Draco's appealing neck. The skin smelled musky, and Harry's tongue darted out to link the smell with the taste. He was so busy taking in the other man's taste and smell that he almost missed the low moan. He let his tongue swipe the smooth skin once again, eliciting another moan. Harry felt his own body react immediately, his heart rate speeding and his pants tensing up further. Draco's mouth claimed Harry's in a hungry kiss, more fierce and needy than any of the earlier kisses. Suddenly Harry's hands were busy fumbling with the buttons on the vampire's robes. Draco let out a throaty laugh and softly pushed Harry's hands away, making short works with his robes and letting them pool around his feet. Harry gasped when he found out that Draco wasn't wearing anything underneath it, except for his pants. They slowly made their way to the bed, Draco falling down on it backwards, pulling the other man with him.

"Why did we have separate Quidditch changing rooms?" Harry said in a husky voice, his eyes trailing over the other Seeker's body up close.

"Slytherins and Gryffindors don't mix."

"Then maybe I should have gotten into Slytherin after all," Harry experimentally flicked his tongue out, dying to find out if every inch of Draco's skin tasted as good as the bit in his neck. Draco gasped for air when Harry repeated the same around his nipple. "You wouldn't have gotten into Slytherin."

"No?" Harry's eyes found the grey ones when he slid up his body, tracing the blonde's jaw line to his ear. "The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin."

They both gasped for air when Harry accidentally brushed his erection over Draco's and Draco's fingers bore into the younger man's hips, pulling them flush together.

"It only put me in Gryffindor because I asked it to. If I would have known – this," Harry smiled when he slithered down the taller man's body again, raising a trace of goose bumps where his lips skimmed the skin, "I would have agreed to go to Slytherin."

"We wouldn't have done – this," Draco murmured, his hands fisting Harry's hair.

"Why – oh right. I was a scrawny git. And I didn't even know yet that I was gay," Harry chuckled in his husky, turned-on voice.

"We were too young."

"I've never been young. I'm the Chosen One, remember?" Harry's confidence was picking up now that he had Draco squirming underneath him, his skin burning and creeping wherever he let his fingers and lips and tongue brush over it.

"Pink Boy," Draco gasped when Harry sucked in a nipple, fisting the other man's shirt. Harry looked down at the clenched fists and pulled his shirt off, wondering what Draco would do with his hands now if he sucked his nipple again. He found out when he moved on to the other nipple, nipping it with his teeth gently. Draco's head bent backwards a little and his fingers scraped Harry's back, leaving bright red traces. His breath escaped in a hiss and his eyes found Harry's when he shot him a cheeky grin.

"We should give you a nickname too. What about Silver Boy?" Harry slowly combed his hand through the silver locks, enjoying how smooth and silky it felt between his fingers.

"Boy?" Draco scowled, tangling one hand in the messy hair and pulling him in for a passionate kiss.

"You're calling me a boy," Harry mumbled when he pulled back, breathless.

"That's what people have been calling you since you were a toddler. You're naming me right now, so I'd rather be called a man," Draco wrapped his arms around the other man and flipped him over to his back.

"Then you've got to prove how much of a man you are."

"Are you trying to insult me, Potter?"

"What if I am? Seems like it's working," Harry smirked, but then he felt Draco's hand cupping the front of his stretched boxerbriefs and he whimpered. Draco squeezed him briefly, sinking his teeth into the soft flesh on his waist. Harry hissed, his fingers gripping the blonde's upper arms, feeling the well-toned muscles working under the skin.

"It wouldn't have been good if you were in Slytherin," Draco whispered, caressing the creeping skin just above the waistband of Harry's boxers.

"Why not?" Harry pulled him higher, wrapping his arms around the blonde tightly and letting their lips lock. They engaged in an erotic dance, their tongues swirling and tasting and tempting the other until they were both gasping for air, rubbing their bodies together.

"I like you the way you are now."

Harry smiled surprised, he wouldn't have expected such sentiments from the other man, but then Draco growled, "Wipe that smug smile of your face Pink Boy."

Harry let out a laugh, cut short when Draco ground his hips against him, causing wonderful friction on his erection.

"Damn Draco!"

"You don't like it?" Draco ground his hips again, a bit stronger this time.

"Hell I like it! Do it again," Harry moaned, burying his hands inside Draco's pants, cupping his ass.

"It's no use trying to make you stop talking, is it?" Draco groaned, grinding their hips together more frantic.

"Try it," Harry moaned, locking their lips together in a sizzling hot kiss. Draco shimmied out of his pants, pulling Harry on top of him. He tentatively hooked his fingers behind the other man's waistband, hoping he wasn't going too fast. He couldn't wait much longer though, he was about to burst already. Harry made no movement to pull back whatsoever, so Draco slid his boxers down, letting his erection spring free so that their hot flesh was rubbing together.

Harry heard the blonde let out a disappointed moan when he moved off him to take off his boxers completely and he chuckled lightly. When he lowered himself back onto the slender man, he resumed abusing his nipples with his mouth, enjoying the power he seemed to have over the other man.

"Touch me Harry," Draco moaned, bucking his hips up when their eyes locked. Harry's hand slowly wandered lower, grazing the soft curls before running his fingers tentatively over the hot flesh. Draco bit down on his lip hard when the other man's hand finally wrapped around his cock, stroking him in an excruciating slow pace. Harry leaned down, capturing his abused lip in a soft kiss while he kept a steady pace with his hand. Draco's fingers dug deep in the younger man's back, his eyes closed tightly when he bucked his hips up, begging for faster, more forceful movements. Harry listened to the strangled moans, felt the desperate grip of Draco's hands on his back, watched the frantic bucking of his hips before he realized what the blonde needed. He sped up, studying Draco's reaction until he suddenly felt the taller man's hand wrap around his neglected erection, stroking Harry in the same frenzied pace.

"Slow down," Harry moaned softly, burying his face in the pale neck, indulging his senses. Within a few seconds Draco's hand stopped moving altogether, and thick white spurts of cum covered Harry's hand and his own belly. Harry slowly ground his still hard cock to Draco's thigh, kissing his neck and collarbone while his breathing slowed down and a final shudder ran through the blonde. Draco took a deep breath, his whole body relaxing and one arm circling Harry's waist. Harry let their lips lock in a slow kiss, still steadily grinding his groin against the other man's body. Draco kissed him back leisurely, until he suddenly became aware of the other man's steady movements against him and his pale cheeks flushed. He gently pushed the younger man on his back and hovered over him when their eyes locked. He saw Harry's eyes snap shut when he slowly stroked his cock, remembering how he'd whispered to slow down. He studied the dark-haired man's reactions when he varied the speed and intensity of the strokes. He seemed to enjoy it, his breathing ragged and his mouth slightly open, but he didn't near an orgasm by far. Just when Draco started to wonder if he was doing anything wrong, Harry's eyes opened and he pulled him down for an open-mouthed, hungry kiss.

"There. Like that," he breathed, his hand wrapping around Draco's to indicate what he wanted. It seemed to Draco that they worked together endlessly, but then he saw the signs of a nearing orgasm in the body beneath him. Then suddenly, unexpectedly fast all of a sudden, Harry gave a moan deep in his throat as he filled the narrow space between their bodies with hot cum. They both slumped back in the pillows and as their breathing slowed down Draco discovered that he'd been panting as well.

"That's actually kind of gross," Harry chuckled hoarsely when their hands found eachother, Draco's cum-covered and Harry's clean hand linking. Draco let out a short laugh and reached for his wand, casting a cleaning spell on their bodies and the bed.

"I'm crap at cleaning spells," he grinned when he succeeded poorly, snuggling up to Harry and pulling the blankets over them.

"Maybe we have to find another way of cleaning up next time," Harry murmured contently, wrapping an arm around the blonde before sinking into a deep sleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

Harry woke up with a start, grabbed his glasses and scanned the room. He relaxed when he realized that he was at Grimmauld place, but he frowned when he felt the cold space next to him in bed. He put on his boxers and a shirt and made his way downstairs whistling. He hadn't been in such a good mood for a long time, and he knew exactly what had caused it.

He expected Draco to be in the kitchen, or else in the living room, but they were both empty. He made a quick tour to check the bathroom and the other places he could be, but then he had to conclude that Draco wasn't there. And he hadn't left a note either.

Harry's good mood only lessened a bit and he set about making himself a big breakfast. He still felt brilliant. He'd had sex. Well, he hadn't literally '_reamed_ _someone's ass'_ as Draco had put it so tactfully, but it was close enough. And it hadn't been with someone who just adored him because he was The Chosen One, but someone who thought he was just an ordinary guy. A _hot _and _sexy_ guy. Draco had said he was beautiful. That he liked him. And he'd smiled at him.

After breakfast he took a long shower, shaved the Muggle way just for the fun of it, and changed the sheets on the bed. Only after he'd done all that, he called for Kreacher to clean up the remnants of the Halloween party. Harry gave him a hand and even chatted with the old elf, letting him tell about Regulus Black, then slyly changed the subject to the Malfoy family. He found out quite a bit about them that Dobby had let slip during the time the two house-elves worked at Hogwarts. Harry told the old creature that he also thought that the youngest Malfoy was a noble man, and if he ever needed help from a house-elf, that Kreacher was allowed to follow Draco Malfoy's orders. It seemed that Kreacher would pass out out of pure delight at Harry's kindness, his flattering words about Regulus and Draco. Of course Harry carefully avoided talking about any other relatives of Draco.

After lunch Harry changed into a clean set of robes and took the Floo to the Leaky Cauldron, continuing to Diagon Alley after some small talk here and there. He didn't go there often, but when he did he always had the same routine: saying hi to George at his joke shop, a quick stop at the bank, an icecream at Fortescue's that had thankfully reopened after the final battle, then checking for interesting books at several bookshops for either Hermione or himself and lastly a visit to the apothecary. He'd been anxious and sleepless for months on end just after the war ended, his health decreased greatly after all the months of living in a drafty tent while they were in hiding. This time he didn't feel like he needed to visit the apothecary, he was feeling fit and he most definitely didn't need anything for his mood anymore. Instead he decided to check some clothing shops, he needed new robes at the least. In the first shop he was helped by a witch only a few years older than him, but she was so impressed by talking to _Harry Potter_ that she made feel him dead uncomfortable and he quickly excused himself and went to the next shop. He stopped dead in his tracks when he thought he saw a familiar white-blonde head in the back of the shop. He blinked a couple of times, sure that his mind was playing tricks with him. He'd been thinking of Draco all day, that's why he probably imagined seeing him. He shook his head and smiled to himself, making his way between the racks of robes, trying to decide what color he'd take. Hermione had told him repeatedly that he needed new robes, and that he shouldn't get black ones because he already had them. He might as well follow her advice.

* * *

"What are you doing here?"

Harry whipped around, startled by the aggressive tone. "I could ask you the same!"

"Are you stalking me or something?" Draco's grey eyes were dark, shadows underneath them and his face seemed paler than usual.

"Of course not," Harry shrugged his shoulders. "I need new robes. Did you leave early this morning?"

"Not here," Draco hissed angrily, looking over his shoulder at the wizard who'd been helping him. Harry rolled his eyes, smiling unconcerned as he was well out of earshot. "So what if people see us talking."

Draco made a movement to leave, but stopped when he heard Harry saying his name softly. He turned around and glared at the dark-haired wizard.

"Can I have a word with you?" Harry asked, confused and feeling slightly hurt by Draco's hostile attitude.

"What do you want Potter?"

"Wow. Kind of a déjà-vu," Harry said taken aback. "Only last time I was feeling like crap, and now it seems the roles have switched."

"Let's get this over with. I'm quite busy," Draco snapped.

Harry summoned all his Gryffindor courage to say what he really wanted to say. "I expected you to stay around to at least have breakfast. I thought we were ... friends."

"It was just sex Potter. I'm not your boyfriend who stays around to cuddle."

"Oh come off it Draco. I'm not that type and you know it! And trust me, I'm not looking for a boyfriend. I just assumed we could have a normal conversation without being drunk or horny. I didn't even get the chance last night to ask you how you've been. And I heard rumors that you wanted to go back to Hogwarts to get your NEWTS. I meant to ask you ..." Harry let his voice trail off when he found Draco still glaring at him, the hostile expression on his face not changing the slightest.

"I can't do this," he said through gritted teeth.

"Do what?" Harry said genuinely surprised.

"_This_," Draco pointed at Harry and then at himself. "Talking like friends while we've had sex the night before. It's either sex _or _being friends and talk about stuff like NEWTS and the weather and whatever bloody subject you want to bring up. One or the other. Not both."

"Oh." Harry's good mood eventually cracked and disappeared like snow in the sunshine.

"So? What's it gonna be?"

"I don't know Draco. I'll have to think about that," Harry said softly, a frown on his face. He absentmindedly let his hands slide over a set of navy robes with silver lining.

"Fine. Let me know if your highness the Golden Boy makes up his mind," Draco sneered. "Oh, and Potter? Don't take those. Green's more your color," his perfectly manicured fingers indicated a set of deep green robes, lined with a fine golden thread.

Before he could answer or say goodbye, Draco had left the store.

"Glad to hear you had fun too. Nice talking to you. Take care, see you soon," Harry murmured, shaking his head.

"Ah, an excellent choice!" The shop owner's cheery loud voice startled Harry out of his reverie. Despite the nasty taste Draco's words had left in Harry's mouth, he ended up buying the green robes the blonde had pointed out. You could say a lot about the Slytherin, but he did have taste. At least if you could judge by all the admiring looks Harry got when he stepped outside in his new robes.

* * *

"It's been a long time since your friend's been here," the bartender smiled when Draco downed his umpteenth Muggle whisky, pulling a face when the liquor burned his throat. "You know. Harry."

Draco's head snapped up when he heard the Muggle say the name. "So?"

"Isn't that why you're here? Third week in a row? You ain't kidding me laddie, you're looking at the door every time someone comes in," the bartender shook his head smiling. Draco scowled, but then he decided the man didn't mean to say anything hurtful.

"He hasn't been here? At all?"

"Nope. He used to come here almost every week. Sometimes he'd only stare at his glass, sometimes he got so drunk that I offered him to call a cab. He always refused, said he lives close. Funny lad, never talked about himself. Asked weird questions about jobs and where to buy stuff. You'd almost say he's from another country, but he doesn't have an accent or anything. Have you known him for a long time?"

"Since our first day at Hogw – high school."

"Why don't you give him a call? Or don't you have his phone number?"

"His what? Oh, well, yeah I could send him a message," Draco mumbled, but not very convincing. He didn't know what a 'phone' was, but he was sure it was some stupid Muggle invention that took days to deliver a message. He'd once been explained how the Muggle send their letters, and he'd laughed his head off when he found out that adult men actually did the job of owls.

"He doesn't have many friends, does he? I've only seen him talk to you ... no wait."

Draco's head snapped up when the bartender continued talking.

"A while ago ... must have been shortly after Halloween ... he left with another guy. I'm not sure if they were friends, but they were friendly when they left together, if you know what I mean," the bartender winked at him in a conspiring way. Draco forced himself to smile back at him, his hands clenched to fists. He'd give anything to curse the man, but he couldn't take the risk. He was watched closely, if he took one tiny step across the line he would probably land in Azkaban where his father was.

"You're gonna take his place then? Drink until you're drunk all alone and then stumble home?"

"Probably," Draco grunted.

"You live close? Close to Harry?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I live close to him," Draco suddenly realized. It really had been coincidence the first time he stumbled upon Harry here. He really had been looking for a place without wizards, because he'd been treated quite nasty by the general public after his trial. He didn't give a rat's ass about that, but it didn't make a good atmosphere to have a relaxing drink at the end of the week.

"Well, you could always step by at his house if you're looking for him. But I'd give him a call first. You never know if he takes men home from other bars on Friday evening, if you know what I mean," the bartender leaned closer to him, talking in a suggestive way. Draco felt himself shake in anger, he mustered all his self-control not to reach for his wand and curse the man six ways to Sunday.

"Whatever he said to you, I'm sure he means well."

Draco jumped scared when he heard the calm, slightly amused voice and felt the reassuring hand on his lower arm.

"Harry!"

"Draco," Harry smiled and pulled up a barstool next to him. "Have you been telling him funny stories Dave?" he grinned at the bartender.

"I was just saying to him that he should – never mind. The usual?"

Harry nodded smiling, then turned to Draco. "Never ever listen to him. He thinks he's all smart, but he doesn't know anything."

"I'm gonna pretend I didn't hear that laddie!" the bartender mocked.

"Good," Harry laughed out loud, then gestured Draco to follow him to an empty booth. "Regular or Firewhisky?" he asked when they sat down opposite eachother.

"I think I've had enough," Draco shook his head.

"Oh. Right. Let me have some glasses to get even."

"Whatever," Draco smirked, leaning back in his chair, his eyes travelling over Harry. He looked good. Rested. Healthy.

"Penny for your thoughts."

"Ha. You should have learned Legilimency," Draco snorted.

"If it's as hard as Occlumency, I'm sure I suck at it."

They stayed silent for a few minutes while Harry enjoyed his whisky, sitting back in his chair relaxed.

"You haven't – why didn't you let me know?" Draco blurted out suddenly.

Harry didn't even pretend he didn't know what Draco meant. "My decision? Well, I couldn't just send you an owl to let you know what I decided, could I? I mean, it's something we both should agree on."

"I gave you the two options. What's there to agree on?"

"I don't like the way you were all hostile and angry the morning after. Okay, the first time I could have deserved it. But the second time I didn't do anything wrong. Or if I did, please explain! But otherwise ... I don't take it if you treat me like crap. I've been through too much shit already, and I'm not willingly getting myself into more."

"Why did you come here then? To pick up guys again?" Draco spat at him.

"You're drunk. If you're not able to have a normal conversation ... I'm gonna go home. You're free to come with me, then I'll make you some coffee and you can sober up and then we can have a normal talk. Or you can stay here and wallow in self-pity or whatever it is you were doing before I came in."

Harry gave Draco a last piercing look when he stood up. He paid the bartender, chatting with him in a friendly tone and left the bar without looking back. Draco sat in his seat frozen for a few minutes. Damn! He'd been waiting to see Harry again, and now when he finally did, he chased him away within minutes! He was such an ass!

He quickly jumped up and ran after the dark-haired wizard. "Harry!" he called down the dark streets, running flat out.

"Calm down, I told you before I'm not good at healing spells," Harry spread his arms wide and stopped him.

"Oh. I thought you'd gone," Draco said sheepishly, realizing that Harry had been waiting for him. "We need to talk."

"Oh really?" Harry rolled his eyes. "And did you get to that conclusion all by yourself?"

"You're such an asshole!" Draco scowled and took a step backwards when he found out that they were standing nose-to-nose, Harry's hands on his shoulders.

"Nice, real nice. If you go on like that, I'm uninviting you."

"You wouldn't!"

"Want to try me? I'm telling you, I don't take it anymore if people treat me like crap. Now get a move on," Harry put his arm around Draco, realizing that the blonde was drunk. When they heard catcalls and leering voices from across the street, Harry spun around. Draco was a bit slower to respond, but he was just in time to see one of the guys bend over like he had stomach ache, one of the guys having a serious nose-bleed and the third seemed to break out in hives.

Harry put his arm a bit tighter around Draco and walked on, his face straight.

"You – didn't!" Draco said aghast.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You used magic on Muggles! You!"

"Did you see me draw a wand?"

"No, but ..."

"So? Be happy that I turned at them and not at you. Because the rate you're going at, you're likely to get hexed. Besides, these guys have been bugging me for a long time," Harry refused to look at the other wizard while they were walking so close together. He could feel Draco's side pressing into him, feel his warmth, if he wanted he could even smell him.

But he didn't want that.

Or did he?


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

"So it took you six bloody weeks to come to this conclusion?"

"Six weeks? Has it been that long? Yeah, I guess you're right. But no, it didn't take me that long. I just – I guess I just didn't know how to contact you," Harry shrugged his shoulders. Draco had sobered up successfully and Harry had told him his vision on their relationship and the way he wanted to go on. "But you ... agree then?"

"I told you, there's not much for me to agree with. I gave you the two options. Even if I didn't do it in a very kind way," he said sheepishly. Harry had made it quite clear that their fragile friendship would end for good if he would treat him like crap again. "So, I'm getting this right? You're saying you're choosing talking over sex?"

"There's plenty people out there willing to have sex. For you and me. But you're the only one I can really talk to," Harry repeated one of his arguments.

"Damn."

"You really are surprised?"

"I ... well ..." Draco stuttered, seemingly embarrassed.

"It's not that – the sex wasn't good," Harry said shyly, putting his hand on top of Draco's hand. "I mean, damn! It was great to be with you, and you were great and I loved the way you said all those sweet things. But if you're making me choose, I'd rather have you as a friend because – don't make me repeat it all. Please?"

Draco blushed a bit deeper when he recalled that he'd called Harry beautiful and hot and sexy and he shrugged off the dark-haired man's hand. "Okay. Okay," he repeated a bit firmer.

"Yeah? We're all good? Just friends?"

"Yeah."

"Brilliant! You want a drink?"

"Are you out of your fucking mind? I think we shouldn't get drunk together for a while," Draco shook his head vigorously, his eyes wide.

"I meant like a juice or something," Harry grinned. "'Cause yeah, it would be ... unwise to get drunk together. Or even slightly buzzed."

"Oh. Yeah a juice would be good. You got some food too? I'm starving, actually."

"Help yourself," Harry laughed loudly and lead the way to the kitchen.

Harry watched the other man tuck in to a huge sandwich, secretly observing him.

"So, how have you been?"

"Fine."

"Draco! Seriously, how have you been?"

"I know, I look like crap. It's just ... since I'm not in touch with my family anymore, I have to earn a living on my own, pay the rent and rubbish like that. But I can't find a good job anywhere because I don't have any NEWTS and of course because I'm the bad guy and nobody wants to give a job to a Malfoy," he pulled a face.

"What are you gonna do about it?"

"What can I do? I've been looking for private teachers, to get some NEWTS after all, but they're bloody expensive. And not very willing to teach me anyway. What are you doing? People offering you jobs all around?"

Harry laughed curtly. "Yeah. Believe it or not, I took a Muggle job. I work at the zoo. But honestly, it's not as exciting as it sounds."

"What do you do there?" Draco raised his eyebrows.

"Guess. What kind of animals would I feel comfortable around," Harry pulled a funny face.

"Snakes."

"Yeah. Of course. But it's not like you can have conversations with them or anything. Besides, I can't risk getting caught talking to them. And it's just – not what I want to do."

"You do look great though."

"Thanks. I feel much better, bet that's because of the physical work, you know. Build some muscles," Harry flexed his biceps exaggerating.

"Maybe I should do something like that too."

"No way! You're not the type to clean out cages. No physical work for you, you're type for finer work. Where you have to use your head rather than your hands."

"Are you calling me –"

Harry cut him off laughing. "Yeah, I'm trying to insult you. No, seriously. You really should get some NEWTS first. I'm thinking of doing the same. It will also give me some more time to figure out what I wanna do. I always wanted to become an Auror, but I don't think I still want that."

"You wanna go back to Hogwarts then?" Draco sighed.

"No. I've always dealt with some kind of popularity, good or bad, but I don't think I could handle it any longer. I don't want hundreds of worshipping kids following me around every fucking day. And we're too old to go back. We wouldn't fit in anymore."

"Yeah, I'm afraid so. But I guess for me there's no other option. I'll have to suffer through it. And the bad kind of popularity."

"Maybe ..." Harry said thoughtful, "maybe if there's enough of us, I mean, guys and girls from our year who didn't get to do the NEWT-exams and who didn't go back after last summer, maybe they could give us classes separately? At least then we don't have to mingle with the younger ones."

"I don't think Hogwarts will make an exception like that, not even to the Golden Boy."

"Stop calling me that! You ass!" Harry laughed and punched Draco's arm playfully.

"Right, right. Sorry. Pink Boy."

"Urgh!" Harry said frustrated, then burst out laughing. "It would be quite funny to see all the shocked faces when they find out, don't you think?"

"Try it."

"Uhm, no I think I'll wait a bit longer. I have to tell my friends first," he pulled a funny face. "Although I wouldn't be surprised if Hermione already knows. She always knows everything before I do."

"Isn't it annoying?"

"It can be, but mostly it's useful," Harry threw the blonde a cheeky grin. "Saves a lot of time when you're doing homework."

"I think I'm gonna go to Hogwarts next week, see if they let me get back in classes after the Christmas holidays."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. You'd better make sure you follow the same NEWTS as Granger then if you find a private teacher."

"Hey, that's not a bad idea!" Harry called out, his face beaming. "If there's enough of us, we don't have to ask Hogwarts to get us into private classes, we can find some teachers ourselves!"

"You'll need classrooms then. You can't travel around going from class to class," Draco shook his head.

"I got this dirty big house! Plenty of rooms we can change into classrooms. Oh and Ron and Hermione live close to Grimmauld Place! And who would want to join ... Neville's gone back to Hogwarts ... Luna would want to join too, I'm sure of it! Dean Thomas! He'll be in, for sure. So there's six already. You know anybody who'd want to join in?" Harry bounced up and down enthusiastically. Draco laughed, seeing his excited face, but then he frowned. "Six? I'm only counting five."

"You, me, Ron, Hermione, Luna and Dean."

"Me? Oh I don't know ..."

"Yeah you of course! If we're gonna start this, I'm not gonna let you go back to Hogwarts!"

"You're not gonna _let me_?"

"Who've I got to talk to then?" Harry pulled a funny face, making the other man laugh. "Don't worry about money Draco. I'll be more than willing to pay for any teacher we need."

"I don't think I can –"

"If you really want, you can pay me back later, when you've got a job," Harry waved his objections away.

"I still need a job right now to pay the rent to my place."

"Oh. Right. Well, you could always leave the place and come and live at Grimmauld's. It's got four floors, I'm sure we won't even walk into eachother if we live on different floors. If we can get this plan into action, I'll move back into Grimmauld Place also and leave this apartment. I hated living there because it's so big and empty, but if we'll be having classes there and you'll also be there, it won't be empty anymore and I'm sure we can make it suitable for living. What do you say?" Harry couldn't stop talking, grinning non-stop and spitting out idea after idea for teachers and other students and living arrangements.

Draco just let him talk, listening silently. He wasn't sure it was such a good idea to be living in Harry's house and being in his debt, but on the other hand he feared going back to Hogwarts or staying in the apartment where he lived now. He really hated the place, and it was damn lonely. Hogwarts would be lonely too, he'd certainly be an outcast.

"So? What do you say?"

"Well, maybe we should think it over for a few days. And if it still seems like a good idea you can ask around who would want to join in?" Draco said carefully.

"You don't really like the idea, do you?"

"I do! It's just that ... well we'll be around eachother quite a lot. I'm not sure ... we've only ... we've always been enemies! It's not easy just to be friends, at least not when your friends will be around."

"They have to grow up. And I know for sure that Luna doesn't have a problem with you, and Hermione's always reasonable. Okay, yeah, let's sleep on it. In fact, let's go to sleep now," Harry yawned widely, suddenly exhausted.

"Almost three o'clock," Draco checked his silver watch with curious looking planets moving around the fingers of the clock. "I'd better head home."

"You're welcome to stay."

"Are you out of your mind? I'm going home!" Draco looked at him amazed, then they burst out laughing at the same time.

"Damn, I'm just trying to be polite. You know, offering a place to sleep. But yeah, go home!" Harry hiccupped. They both stood up and before Draco knew what happened, Harry pulled him in for a hug. He hugged him back awkwardly, patting Harry's back.

"See ya soon Draco. You got an owl, right? Let me know if you have any ideas for people we can ask, students and teachers. Or ideas for Grimmauld Place. Or whatever."

"Yeah, I'll let you know. Well, bye then."

"Take care and sleep well," Harry smiled when he let go of the blonde completely. "Uhm, you can Apparate from here back to your house, I've adjusted the wards. Make sure you warn me in advance if you want to Apparate in. Or rather use the Floo," he grinned. It was common knowledge that most witches and wizards put certain wards on their homes to protect against people Apparating directly into the house, but Harry had found out that you could alter them to let certain people Disapparate anyway.

"Yeah. Uhm, good night Harry." Draco smiled awkwardly, then spun on the spot and Disapparated.

* * *

"So? Good idea or worst idea ever?" Harry looked at his two best friends. They burst out at the same time, words tumbling out without pause. Harry didn't understand a word, but if he interpreted the expression on their faces right, they liked the idea. A lot.

"Hold on, hold on!" Harry stopped them. "So there's four of us already."

"Four?"

"You didn't expect me to come up with a plan like this all by myself? Draco Malfoy is joining us," Harry said calmly, but his stomach was churning nervously. He'd been thinking how to tell them for weeks, but he couldn't think of a better plan than just say it.

"You're joking!" Ron said unbelievingly.

"No. I'm serious mate. We came up with all this together. And he's gonna live at Grimmauld Place too."

"You hate him!" Hermione's voice had gone so high, it was almost painful to the ears.

"I did, back in the days at Hogwarts. He's an okay guy now."

"Okay? OKAY?" Ron bellowed.

"You don't even know him! How would you know if he's okay?" Hermione got as quiet as Ron got loud.

"We met a few times. At first we just talked about the war and stuff. I can really talk to him about that, he knows what it's like," Harry shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably.

"You can talk to US! We also know what it's like! We're your best friends! We were there with you!" Ron's face turned redder and redder by the minute.

"You never want to talk to us, but we're ..." Hermione's lower lip trembled threateningly.

"But for you two it wasn't the same. You weren't walking towards your death for sure. And maybe I can't talk to you about it _because_ you were with me," Harry looked at both of his friends, desperately trying to make them understand. "Look, I only talked to him a couple of times."

"And you didn't bother telling us about it?" Ron stood up, his fists clenched to his side. He was obviously trying to restrain himself from hitting Harry.

"I didn't think it was such a big deal," Harry said quietly. Ron gave him one more scathing look and stormed out the door.

"Hermione?"

"Really? Malfoy?"

"Yeah. If you think about it, it makes sense. He had to kill Dumbledore, and if he didn't he was threatened to be killed by Voldemort. He was sure to commit murder, or get murdered," Harry talked so fast he was threatening to break his tongue.

"Like you."

"Like me. His family expected great things of him, just like people expected great things of me. Now that he's on the good side, we're very much alike. We both grew up and saw that."

"And all this just happened? You walked into eachother and poured your heart out?"

Harry laughed shortly. "There was a lot of whisky involved."

Hermione didn't respond, but pressed her hands to her eyes.

"Oh come on!" Harry said after a couple of minutes. "Grow up! He's just a guy. He's not that bad, and he was cleared of all charges in his trial, you know that. He deserves a second chance. And I wish Ron grew up too!"

"I want to believe that you're right. How do you know he's honest? That he doesn't have some hidden, dark plan to hurt you?" Hermione finally looked up.

"I just know. I trust him."

"I still don't think it's such a good plan if he lives at Grimmauld Place though. The classes are a brilliant idea, and I guess it would be okay if Malfoy would take them with us. But let him move in to your house ..."

"It's my house, it's my decision. Tell that to Ron too."

"I'm not gonna choose sides. If you want Ron to know something, you'll have to talk to him yourself," Hermione shook her head.

"Fine. If the prat wants to listen to me."

"Hey! That's my boyfriend you're talking about!"

Harry couldn't help snorting loudly. "And my best friend."


	6. Chapter 6

_Chapter 6_

"Oh wow. This really _is_ a lousy place to live!" Harry looked around Draco's apartment.

"Tell me about it," he rolled his eyes. "Have a seat. Want a drink or something?"

When Draco returned with two coffee, he found Harry lost in thoughts, a big frown on his face. "You okay?"

"What? Yeah, fine," Harry gave him half a smile. "It's just ..."

"It's okay if you're having seconds thoughts. I haven't actually moved to Grimmauld Place yet, we can still call it off."

"What! No, that's not it! I do want you to come and live there. But apparently I'm the only one who thinks it's a good idea."

"You told your friends?"  
"Ron's so angry at me that he refuses to talk to me. He'll come round though, it has happened before. But Hermione keeps on –"

"What? Warning you?"

"Yeah," Harry looked into the grey eyes, which were unusually kind. He'd expected Draco to get angry at Hermione and Ron for this.

"I didn't expect anything else. That's why I thought you'd have changed your mind," the blonde shrugged.

"Definitely not. I've already moved back to Grimmaulds, and I hate living there alone. It's still a ghastly house, even though we've changed the necessary rooms into classrooms already," Harry couldn't suppress a shudder.

"We could redecorate all the rooms. We can start with the living room, hallway and your bedroom. Make it more pleasant for you. If you want."

"Good luck with the hallway. It's no use trying to remove the painting of Mrs. Black," Harry said sarcastically.

"Fine, if you don't want it ..."

"No, no. I'd like to change the whole house."

"Get rid of all those snake decorations everywhere? Or doesn't that bother you?"

"Not really. Does it bother you? Remind you of ... Nagini?" Harry hesitated for a second before saying the name.

"Yeah, well, that too. But it bothers me more that when you talk to yourself, it's Parseltongue," Draco's cheeks flushed.

Harry choked on his coffee, coughing violently. "Parseltongue? Really?"

"I think it's set off by the snakes everywhere."

"I already knew I have to stop talking to myself, but now ..." Harry shuddered.

"It's okay. Don't worry about it. It's not your fault you're a Parselmouth," Draco put his hand on Harry's arm reassuringly.

Harry smiled at him gratefully, but then stood up. "Let's get started, okay?"

Draco smiled back and told the other man where to start. He'd already packed all of his belongings, they just had to move the stacks of boxes and the few pieces of furniture that he wanted to take.

* * *

A couple of hours later they were finished and stumbled into the kitchen of Grimmauld's exhausted. Kreacher had made them an exquisite meal already and they plopped down at the table.

"Welcome home," Harry raised his glass. Draco didn't respond, but nodded his head smiling and tinked their glasses together in the toast. After dinner Harry went to the living room and laid down on the rug in front of the crackling fire.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked curiously when he found him there two hours later.

"I'm making notes," Harry rolled his eyes.

"Is that a potions book? The classes aren't starting for three weeks!"

"This isn't just an ordinary potions book. There are really useful additions to the instructions, and I'm copying them to my own book. And there are also other spells and hexes in there, I'm copying them to another notebook."

"Why?" Draco sat down next to him cross-legged, trying to read the miniscule writing in the old book.

"Hermione and Ron will kill me if they find out I still have this book," Harry sighed. "There's a lot of stories you haven't heard yet," he said and told Draco all about the Half-Blood Prince and all that had happened because of the book.

"So the time you almost killed me by slicing me up –"

"Yeah. The spell is in here," Harry smiled embarrassed, apologetically. "And Snape knew how to heal you because it was his own spell. But it's the only dangerous thing in here that I've found. And it did say 'for enemies'."

"Well I'm glad I'm not your enemy anymore. So that's how you were suddenly brilliant at Potions in sixth year. I really thought it had something to do with Slughorn. Or the absence of Severus," Draco suddenly understood.

"Since when were you on a first-name-basis with Snape?"

"Since I went into hiding with him after Dumbledore died. I'm glad he liked me, it could have gotten nasty otherwise. Who knew he was working for the good side all along, eh?"

Harry gave a non-committal grunt and went on copying from the battered book. For almost half an hour the only sounds that could be heard were the crackling of the fire, the scratching of the quill and the calm breathing of the two men.

"What are you thinking?" Harry looked sideways at the blonde.

"I'm wondering what will happen if people find out we're living here together."

"You think that bloody Skeeter woman will write an article about us? The two tragic war veterans hooking up?" Harry snorted.

"Likely. You think anybody will think ... that we're, like, really living together? Like a gay couple?"

"We _are_ gay. And we're living together," Harry burst out laughing and sat up, finally closing the books.

"You know what I mean," Draco playfully shoved his arm.

"They might think you're gay. I mean, you're always looking perfect. Hair, clothes, all in style all the time."

"Are you making fun of me?" the blonde pulled a threatening face.

"Nope. I'm just saying that nobody in his right mind will guess that I'm gay. I mean, I know I've got horrible taste in clothing. And it doesn't really interest me," Harry rolled his eyes.

"Well if you'll let me pick your clothes ..."

"I won't unless we really are a couple. I might allow you to go shopping with me some time, but I'm _never_ gonna let you pick my clothes in the morning!"

"Damn. Will you let me pick your clothes if we go out?" Draco wiggled his eyebrows.

"Go out? Oh Draco, are you asking me on a date?" Harry pretended to swoon.

"Ass!" the blonde scowled and punched Harry's arm. He yelped when the dark-haired man punched him back and ran from the room. "I'm gonna go to sleep. Tomorrow I'll report you for domestic violence!"

"Make sure you also mention the fact that we're both gay and living together. I want the Prophet to get the facts right for once!" Harry called after him laughing.

"Good night Potter."

"Night Draco!" Harry blew him a kiss, at which Draco pretended to vomit and then retreated to his room, his loud laughter echoing in the hallway.

* * *

"Where's Malfoy?"

"I don't know. Haven't seen him at breakfast either," Harry looked around. Potions was about to start, and Draco was never late for class.

"Maybe he's ill?" Ron said hopeful. Ron had started talking to Harry again when they started the classes a few weeks ago, but he still refused to acknowledge that Draco could have changed, that he was a nice guy now.

"I'll go check," Harry rolled his eyes and ran up the stairs two steps at a time. "Draco?"

He knocked on his bedroom door, but didn't hear anything. When he carefully turned the handle, he found out the door wasn't locked. "Draco?" he said carefully, expecting to find him asleep or ill. The blonde was far from asleep though!

He was jerking off.

His eyes were closed in ecstasy, his fist furiously pumping his hard cock. Harry must have made a sound of some sort, because Draco's eyes flew open and focused on the dark-haired wizard.

"Harry!" It was half a moan, half an indignant shout. His fist didn't stop moving though, and within seconds he was shooting white hot cum over his hand, his eyes still locked on Harry.

"Damn Draco! Next time lock your door, or don't wank when class is about to start!" Harry groaned.

"You should have the decency to get out of the room," Draco shot him a dirty look and turned away from him to clean up.

"Nothing I haven't seen before," Harry retorted with a naughty grin.

"Besides, what's it to you if I do this just before class?" Draco grunted.

"Now I'm gonna be late! No fucking way I'm able to start potions like this," Harry rolled his eyes. He was hard as hell.

"I'll tell them you're running a little late, you'll be excused," Draco's eyes swept over the other man, resting at the obvious bulge in his pants.

"If you tell them –"

Draco cut him off laughing, his embarrassment fading. "Don't worry. You know enough about me to take revenge. Well, enjoy," he smirked when he passed Harry in the doorway.

"Thanks," Harry laughed, slapping the blonde's ass.

"Make sure you lock the door. You never know if the Weasel comes looking for you. Unless ... you know ... you've fallen for a red-head before ..."

"Piss off!" Harry aimed a kick at the blonde, who quickly darted to the stairs. "Oh and Draco? I'm more into blond."


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

"Brilliant! Congratulations!" Draco's face broke into a huge grin when they'd read the results the two owls just delivered many months later. "Six NEWTS!"

"Yeah, you too! Congrats man!" Harry beamed back at him and pulled the blonde into a rib-cracking hug. "I knew you could do it!"

"Of course. We only took the six subjects and had private teachers!" Draco pulled a funny face when he broke away from the hug.

"Still, we had to put quite a bit of work in it," Harry laughed and punched his arm playfully. "Damn, I can't believe it!"

"Me neither! We passed all of them!"

"This calls for a drink! We're free at last!" Harry summoned a bottle of Firewhisky and two glasses and sat down on the couch. Draco flopped down next to him, a perma-grin on his face.

"You sure about the whisky?"

"What? The worst thing that can happen is that we get drunk and end up in bed together," Harry shot him a cheeky grin.

"Damn! You still haven't given up, have you?" Draco scowled.

"Never!"

"Alright, alright, give me some. But I'm not gonna get drunk and I'm not gonna ... you know," Draco eyed him suspiciously for a second before his grin broke through again. "Cheers! To freedom! No more homework, no more teachers, no more Granger breathing down our neck!"

"Hey, that's my friend you're talking about!" Harry scowled, but then he clinked their glasses together. "To freedom!"

They both downed their glasses and grinned at eachother stupidly. "Now what?" Harry locked eyes with the grey ones.

"Well, I know something we could do."

"Brilliant! You're drunk after just one glass! You wanna hit the bedroom, or you wanna do it right here?"

"Ass!" Draco laughed and punched the other wizard in the ribs. "The joke's getting old."

"I just want to make sure you remember that I'm still open to – uhm ... whatever you want," Harry's green eyes twinkled mischievously.

"Fine. If you can't be serious for even a minute, I'm not gonna tell you –"

Harry cut him off by pounding on him. He straddled the taller man's legs and pulled a threatening face. "Tell me!"

"Domestic violence. Again."

"Violence? I haven't even hurt you! I could, if you want that," Harry wiggled his eyebrows. "Kinky!"

"You really are the biggest kid in the world. Can't you be serious for a minute?" Draco rolled his eyes.

"Come on! I'm just happy we're finally finished with all the exams and we passed them all! And ... well ... life's just good now, you know what I mean? I still think it's great that you're living here, we're good friends, not just being polite and trying our hardest to be civilized to eachother and ... I don't know. Life's just good, you know?"

"Yeah, I know what you mean. But ... well what are you gonna do now? You still don't know what kind of job you wanna do."

"As if you know it," Harry snorted.

"No, I don't. That's why I thought that maybe we should get away for a while?"

"Away? What do you mean?" Harry was serious at once, sitting up straight and looking at Draco curiously.

"I mean like take a break. A long one. A holiday."

"And where do you wanna go?"

"I don't care. Something that's new to both of us."

"Somewhere where there's no other wizards?"

Draco nodded. "Yeah."

"Let me guess, you already arranged it all?"

"Kind of."

"I'm only going on one condition."

"I should have known," Draco sighed.

"If we're gonna take a break from all of this, be away from the wizarding world, we're gonna act like Muggles."

"Damn. I knew you were gonna say something ridiculous like that."

"I'm not saying we can't use magic. I suggest a Portkey, because no way I'm gonna get into an airplane. But to the outside world we'll be like ordinary Muggles."

Draco laughed relieved. "No problem. Where do you wanna go?"

"Something warm? Sunny?"

"I already packed your stuff," Draco jumped up and dragged two suitcases inside. "Let me activate the Portkey."

Harry looked at him flabbergasted. "This isn't just an idea you just had! You've been planning this for weeks, haven't you?"

"You didn't suspect a thing, did you? It's all been arranged with the travel agency. And I just knew you'd want to go somewhere sunny because you've been complaining about the cold forever," he answered smugly.

"You – what – how – you –"

"The Portkey Harry. And grab your suitcase. You can thank me later," Draco shot him a huge grin, holding out an old alarm clock. Harry put his hand on it too, the clock turned a bright blue and they both felt the weird tug behind the navel when they were transported to their holiday destination.

* * *

"Welcome to the Costa del Sol. Spain," Draco gestured around when they landed on a deserted street, their suitcases slamming to the floor at their feet. "Follow me."

"Welcome! Party of two? Your name please?" the woman at the reception smiled at them both expectantly.

"Uhm, under the name of Potter," Draco smiled back at her. She checked all the paperwork and handed them their key along with the house rules and an instruction of how to reach their room.

"You put it under my name?" Harry burst out as soon as the door shut behind them.

"It's a common name. I thought it would attract less attention than 'Malfoy'," Draco shrugged.

"You think so? Everybody in the whole bloody world knows my name! So far for our quiet holiday away from everything!" Harry stared at him angrily.

"Only in the wizarding world. Relax Harry, we're in the Muggle world. Nobody knows you here. Did you see the woman downstairs look at you?"

"No, she only had eyes for you," Harry glared at him.

"Exactly. Nobody knows us."

Harry stayed silent for a few seconds. "You're right, I guess," he agreed grudgingly.

"You done with the negativity now? How about this suite I booked, eh?"

Harry looked around for the first time. There were two separate bedrooms and a small living room with a kitchenette and a bathroom. His mood switched back to happy immediately when he took a quick tour. "It's awesome!"

"Pfew. I'm glad your highness approves of the accommodation," Draco pretended to wipe the sweat from his forehead.

"Stop it!" Harry laughed and jumped on his back, wrapping his arms around the blonde's neck.

"Gerrof me, gerrof me!" Draco squealed and flopped down on the couch, crushing Harry. They both burst out laughing uncontrollably.

"Oh we're gonna have so much fun!"

"You think so? You're gonna have fun with the lady downstairs?" Harry wiggled his eyebrows.

"You know I only – go for guys."

"Let's get outside and check out the town. Oh wait, we got to change first," Harry looked down at his clothes.

"Good idea. It's sweltering hot outside, even if it's nearing dinner time."

"I love sweltering hot. The hotter it is, the less clothes everybody wears."

"You're planning on getting laid?"

"Hell yes! If I'm not gonna get any from you, I'm gonna get anything I can get from others. Nobody here knows me! And look at that!" Harry leaned over the balustrade on the balcony. "Only people our age here!"

"I know. Now get changed."

"Uhm, Draco?" Harry called from his room only minutes later. He looked up from his suitcase when he heard the blonde enter his room. His breath hitched when he saw the white linen shirt and pants, the flip flops and the sunglasses on the blonde. He looked breathtaking!

"Yes Harry?"

"Uhm," Harry managed to avert his eyes. "You didn't pack any of my clothes."

"I did. These are your new clothes."

"Damned! I told you before, I'm only gonna let you choose my clothes if we're a couple!"

"What are you saying? I have to kiss you before you put on these clothes I bought you?"

"What if that's what I'm saying?" Harry said daringly.

"Well, I guess I'll have to teach you a little about how to dress, and you'll have to teach me a little about how to behave like a Muggle."

"Just don't draw your wand. Then you're a Muggle."

Draco laughed loudly. "Yeah right. And they listen to the Weird Sisters and play Exploding Snap?"

"Uhm, no not exactly. They listen to ... well we'll have to find out what they listen to and they play video games. We can do that!" Harry grinned.

"Video games? What's that? No wait, tell me some other time," Draco stepped up to Harry and suddenly pressed their lips together. "There. I kissed you. Now you have to put on those clothes," he said cheekily and put a matching pair of trousers and shirt in Harry's hands before he left the room, leaving a dumbfounded Harry.

* * *

After a pleasant dinner they strolled down the boulevard, looking around and chatting a little. They'd had a couple of glasses of beer during dinner, they were both enjoying a pleasant buzz and were in a teasing, flirty mood.

"So? You think you're gonna get any tonight?" Draco put his arm around Harry's shoulder. Harry tried to shake him off uncomfortably.

"Draco!" he hissed.

"What? Come on, nobody's paying us any attention. And besides, there are more gay couples here," the blonde nudged his head at a bench they passed. Two males were sitting on it, wrapped around eachother and kissing passionately, oblivious to the rest of the world.

"I thought we were just friends? You didn't want more?" Harry quirked one eyebrow.

"We are. I'm not saying you're gonna get any from me," Draco laughed. "But there's plenty guys drooling over your hot body. Now that you're wearing the right clothes ..." he let his voice trail off purposely.

"Yeah right," Harry rolled his eyes. "So? We're supposed to go to a club now, aren't we?"

"I guess so."

"Can you dance?"

"I ... don't think I can dance like Muggles," Draco said insecurely.

"I can't dance at all. Let's stick together, okay?"

"Yeah, let's stick together for tonight." When they found a club that seemed to be popular, they joined the queue outside. The moment they entered the dark, loud, hot club, their hands linked.

* * *

"Harry! Harry!"

"No no no no! Don't hurt them! They don't deserve it! Don't kill them! No! Please!" Harry yelled, trashing around in his bed.

"Harry! Wake up!" Draco avoided the flailing arms and grabbed his shoulders tightly, forcing him to wake up. "It's just a dream Harry. Just a dream."

"No! Let go off me!" Harry yelled, his eyes snapping wide open. He fought the blonde for a few moments until he realized that it was his friend and that he'd had a nightmare.

"Shhht. It's okay. Just a dream," Draco said softly, still holding his shoulders when Harry stared at him. A sob escaped Harry's lips unexpectedly, startling them both. Draco's eyes opened wide, but then he pulled himself together and put his hands on Harry's cheeks. "It's okay. It was just a dream," he repeated softly. Another sob echoed around the room. And another and another until Harry was crying his heart out. Draco pulled him into a hug and patted his back awkwardly.

"You have nightmares more often?" he asked softly when Harry calmed down after a few minutes.

"Almost every week."

"You do?" Draco said shocked. "How could I not know?"

"You live two levels higher than me," Harry shrugged embarrassed, wiping away the tears and scooting away from the other man.

"Why did you never tell me?"

"What would you have done?"

"I could have woken you up when you have a bad dream."

Harry let out a harsh laugh. "Good luck with that."

"Almost every week? That often? After all this time?"

"I can't help it. Now drop it, okay? Go back to sleep," Harry grunted.

"Will you be able to sleep?"

"Not for a while."

"I'll keep you company then," Draco simply said and laid down on Harry's double bed. Harry looked at him for a moment, then laid back down too. The next ten minutes all that could be heard was the monotone sound of the ceiling-fan and the breathing of the two men.

"Don't you ever have nightmares about it?" Harry turned his head, looking at the silvery blonde hair spread out over the pillow next to him.

"Not often."

"That's good. I'm glad you don't."

Draco merely shrugged and turned to his side, towards the other man. "Go to sleep Harry. I'll wake you up if you have another nightmare, I promise."

"Thanks."

"Any time," Draco whispered back, barely audible. He put his hand on Harry's arm reassuringly and eventually they both sank into a blissful sleep.

* * *

Draco snuggled up to the other man when he woke up.

"Get out of my room," Harry grumbled and shoved his shoulder.

"We're on holiday," Draco gave him a goofy grin, getting up on his elbow to look at the dark-haired wizard.

"That doesn't mean you can claim my bed. You got your own double bed."

"Aww aren't we grumpy? Want some breakfast?" Draco didn't let him spoil his good mood.

"I want some privacy."

Draco chuckled and pressed a kiss to Harry's cheek. "I already like being on holiday with you. Glad you wanna do things together."

"Stop riding up to me and give me a minute to jerk off, will you!"

Draco looked at him taken aback, then burst out laughing loudly. Harry glared at him, then burst out laughing too.

"Sorry. I'll make breakfast in the kitchen, join me when you're ready," Draco hiccupped when he carefully scooted away from the other man.

"About last night," Harry started when they were enjoying their breakfast on the balcony. The sun was shining brightly and it was getting warm already.

"The club? My abysmal dancing?" Draco quirked one eyebrow.

"Uhm, yeah I wanted to talk about that too, but that's not what I meant. I ... erm ... about in the night, when you woke me up. Thanks," Harry stared at his plate, moving the scrambled eggs around idly.

"No problem. I think we'd better keep to our own beds, but I'll wake you up if I hear you having a bad dream again."

"Thanks," Harry finally looked up, finding the grey eyes locked on him. There was a kind, understanding look on the blonde's face. "I can't believe we loathed eachother for so many years."

"Where did that suddenly come from?" Draco chuckled.

"I don't know. It just surprises me still that you're so friendly, because I always thought you to be cruel and aggressive."

"I was. 'T was my family's influence. Anyway ... you also wanted to talk about my dancing skills?" he quickly changed the subject.

Harry burst out laughing. "Of both of us. I didn't even enjoy myself, I've never seen people dance like that! And I'm not familiar with that kind of music and –"

"So? We got loads of time to do research. Let's go to the beach and see if we can mingle with the Muggles."

"Hermione would be proud," Harry chuckled, but then he turned pale. "Hermione! Ron!"

"Don't worry. I told Granger where we were going, to avoid a world-wide alarm that Harry Potter has been kidnapped and probably murdered by his supposedly good friend."

"Oh good!" Harry breathed out relieved. "I can't believe I haven't thought of letting them know earlier!"

"You can send them a message the Muggle way."

"A postcard? Yeah that's a great idea! They'll love it!"

"Uhm, yeah whatever."

"You don't know what a postcard is, do you?" Harry chuckled. "Wow am I lucky I grew up with the Dursleys."

Draco stared at him blankly, then it suddenly clicked. "Your aunt and uncle are called Dursley? You've never mentioned them before."

"Yeah. Well they're not worth mentioning," Harry shrugged his shoulders, getting up to clear the breakfast table. He carried everything inside until no curious neighbors could see him anymore, then whipped out his wand and cleaned everything within seconds. Draco stared after him, getting the hint that Harry didn't want to talk about his family. The Muggles who he grew up with. Had something happened to them? Or were they still alive?

"So? Beach?" Harry stepped back on the balcony.

"Yeah. Get your swimming trunks on. Oh and there's also sunglasses in your suitcase so you can leave your glasses here."

"Oh you really hate my glasses!"

"Don't you? Look me in the eyes and tell me you think they're ... nice."

Harry rolled his eyes, but then he grinned. "Well maybe it's time to get even more Mugglish. Contact lenses?"

"And what are those?" Draco said exasperated. He learned new words every few minutes by only talking to Harry. What would happen if he'd try to pick up a conversation with Muggles?

"I'll tell you all about it on our way to the beach."

Draco quickly jumped up and disappeared in his room to get ready for the beach. He quickly cast a sunblock charm on himself, put on his sunglasses and threw his beach towel over his shoulder.

"Why are your trunks all the way down to your knees, and mine are only 'til here? And much tighter?" Harry glared at the blonde when they checked eachother out.

"What's wrong with your trunks? You don't like them? I think they look great on you," Draco said innocently. Harry's trunks hung snugly to his hips, showing off his fit buttocks.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Harry swapped his glasses for the sunglasses. "I won't be able to see anything – oh wow. They're perfect," he said surprised and followed the blonde outside.

"How did you get all this stuff?" Harry wondered.

"Well, I won the case against the Ministry. They didn't have the right to close my family vault after all, at least not the part that I'm entitled to."

"That's brilliant! Why didn't you tell me about this? We got to celebrate!" Harry called out.

"Aren't we celebrating now?" Draco laughed happily.

"Right."

Draco looked at his friend sideways when he remained silent for a few minutes. "What's wrong?"

"Well, now that you've got money ... does that mean you'll get your own house when we get back home?" Harry stared at the floor, kicking a pebble off the pavement.

"Oh! Well I haven't even thought about that yet! I understand if you want the house back to yourself, or if you want to get yourself another house now that we've finished classes at Grimmauld's."

"You're free to stay! I'm not gonna move out if you're staying," Harry said quickly.

"I kind of enjoy living with you too," Draco nudged his ribs laughing to make the dark-haired man look at him. Harry gave him a relieved smile and poked him back.

"Now tell me all I need to know before we mingle with the Muggles."

"You should have taken Muggle studies back at Hogwarts," Harry teased him.

"No fucking way!"

Harry smirked and explained how Muggles watch movies, and how they listen to music. Draco listened mesmerized.

"We should watch a movie!"

"Yeah, we can go to the cinema later today. And we've got a tv and DVD player in our hotel room, we can rent some DVD's. But then first we've got to find out what kind of movies we should get. Maybe ..."

"Maybe what?" Draco looked at him curiously.

"I wonder if – the dancing and the music in the club last night, maybe there's movies with that too. So we can get used to it."

"And practice dancing in our room?" Draco smirked.

"I don't wanna make a fool out of myself another evening!" Harry said defensively.

"Maybe we should ask some Muggles to teach us," he wriggled his eyebrows.

"Oh. Well, that's not such a bad idea," Harry grinned when they reached the beach and they found a spot next to a mixed group with guys and girls.

"But let's go swimming first!"

"Damn," Harry muttered when he put his bag down and spread out his towel.

"What?"

"I can't take my wand. Got nothing to hide it in."

"I got mine here," Draco tapped his upper leg. "Leave yours in your bag, I'll put an anti-thievery charm on it."

"See? You should have gotten me a pair of swimming trunks like yours, then I could have kept my wand on me too," Harry grumbled.

"Last one in the water is a loser!"

"Oh you're going down Malfoy!"

* * *

"What's with his attitude? He acts like the whole world conspires against him."

"Look who's talking," Harry snorted and kicked Draco's leg. They were sprawled over the couch, watching a movie. They'd had fun at the beach, but now it was mid-day and it was so hot they'd decided to go back to their suite.

"He does look kinda hot though. Despite the whole showing off with his dancing," Draco wiggled his eyebrows.

"You think so?"

"You don't? Come on, he's all muscle, broad chest ..." Draco let his voice trail off purposely.

"I think that girl's way hotter," Harry said after a few minutes, making the other man choke on his drink.

"What? I'm serious! What's wrong with her?"

"It's a _girl_! You don't ..."

"I don't what? I swing both ways, you know that!" Harry laughed, but then he saw the astonished look on the blonde's face. "You didn't? What did you think I was doing on the beach this morning?"

"I thought you were ..."

"For a while I was turned off on girls, but then I figured ... Anyway, we're meeting up with them this evening. I'm meeting up with the girl."

"I thought you were just mingling. Trying to find out what Muggles like to listen to and get some movies we should watch," Draco mumbled.

"I got a – what do they call it? Ulterior motive?" Harry shot him a cheeky grin. "Now can we watch the movie? I think your hot guy likes the stuck-up rich girl!"

"Oi oi! 'You quit everything you start and you know it'. That's harsh!" Draco called out a couple of minutes later, repeating a line from the movie.

"He is right though. He's just so ... indifferent."

"I guess life has been hard on him. You of all people should know –"

Harry cut him off. "Let's just watch the movie, okay?"

"Oh how cute! They get together! Quite a surprise!" Draco said sarcastically fifteen minutes later.

"Shut up!" Harry whacked his head with a pillow. "They are cute together!"

"You sound like a girl! Don't tell me you're also gonna pull out pictures of your childhood too!" Draco mocked him.

"Fat chance. I don't have any pictures. Only from when I was a baby and back with my parents," Harry snorted.

"Muggles don't take pictures? But they have pictures in the movie!" Draco said surprised.

"Yeah, Muggles take pictures of their family and other stuff. I just – I was never in the pictures," Harry stared at the tv.

"How come?"

"Drop it! Why do you wanna talk about me all the time?"

Draco bit back his retort and watched the tv silently. He'd heard stories about Harry's tragic childhood, but somehow he'd always figured they'd made it sound a lot worse than it really was. For the dramatic effect.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

"Harry! Thank God you're back! I was starting to get worried! Why're you so late?" Draco called out relieved when he heard his friend enter the apartment and he walked into the living room. He stopped dead in his tracks when he found Harry wrapped around a girl.

"Oh!" the girl said surprised, eyeing Draco who only had a towel wrapped around his hips, just emerging from the shower after a long night at a club. "I didn't think you – you have a boyfriend?" she turned to Harry confused.

"No, no. He's not my boyfriend. Get lost Draco," Harry shot him a dirty look and continued to drag the girl to his bedroom.

* * *

"Morning," Harry yawned widely the next morning, slouching down in a chair on the balcony. Draco nodded at him stiffly.

"Did you see the girl leave?" Harry poured himself some coffee.

"No."

"Oh. Me neither," he shot his friend a wide grin. "Best way I guess. Would have been awkward otherwise."

"I guess so," Draco shrugged, putting the last piece of toast back on his plate.

"You almost scared her off last night though," Harry squeezed his eyes.

"Sorry." It didn't sound like the blonde meant it though, and Harry eyed him suspiciously.

"You're not sorry at all."

"I said I'm sorry, didn't I!" Draco slammed his fist on the table, standing up. He shot Harry one last hateful look and disappeared into the apartment.

"What's wrong with you?" Harry called after him, but he didn't get an answer. A few minutes later followed him inside. "What's wrong with you?" he repeated a bit softer.

"Nothing."

"Then why are you in such a bad mood?"

"Why can't I be in a bad mood for once? Haven't I put up with enough of your bad moods? Don't I deserve to be the cranky one for once? For God's sake Harry, stop breathing down my neck!" Draco burst out and fled into his bedroom. Harry followed him and knocked on his door. He kept knocking for five minutes until the blonde finally opened.

"We've been doing everything together for a week, maybe we should spend some time apart. We're getting on eachother's nerves," Harry said calmly.

"You think so?" Draco answered sarcastically.

"Just wanted to let you know I'm going down to the beach."

"Gonna chat up more girls?"

"Maybe I am. Why do you care? You're the one who didn't want – never mind. See you around," Harry let out an exasperated sigh.

* * *

The next few days they didn't do anything together, only seeing eachother sporadically at their hotel suite and at the club that they'd both made their favorite place to go out.

Harry'd had quite a few drinks when he spotted a familiar silvery-blonde head on the dance floor and he made his way towards him immediately.

"Hey," he breathed in Draco's ear and danced around him.

"Hi. Wow, you've improved your dance moves," Draco answered, eyeing him up and down.

"So have you. Had a private teacher?"

Draco merely snorted, then moved a bit closer to Harry. "How've you been?"

"Okay. You?"

"Fine."

"I'd like to see a bit more of you though," Harry stared into the grey eyes. A fierce blush shot up Draco's cheeks. They were dancing close together, he could feel the vibes of the loud music all through his body and his head was swimming because he'd had a few too many drinks.

"I thought maybe we could go snorkeling together tomorrow?" Harry continued when Draco stared at him silently.

"Oh. Yeah, sure," Draco came out of his reverie.

"Unless you don't want to?" Harry said insecurely, seeing the blonde's intense stare.

"No, no. It's fine. Yeah, snorkeling together tomorrow."

"Brilliant. I'll see you at breakfast?" Harry shot him a big smile. Draco nodded, mirroring his smile unconsciously.

* * *

The next morning they met at breakfast indeed, Harry sipping his orange juice relaxed when Draco joined him on the balcony.

"Good morning!"

"Good morning!" Draco smiled back at him. "Your girl left already?"

"What girl?"

"Oh. I thought you ... never mind."

"Why don't you ever bring someone back here?" Harry eyed his friend curiously. "They were swarming around you last night. Plenty of hot guys."

"The walls are quite thin here. I didn't want to expose you to –"

Draco stopped when Harry blushed furiously. "You could have put on a Silencing charm if it bothered you."

"So, snorkeling eh?" Draco changed the subject abruptly.

"Yeah. I bet we're gonna see loads of fish, I've been told there's quite a good spot just out of town."

Draco stared at him blankly. "What exactly is snorkeling?"

Harry burst out laughing loudly, almost choking on his toast. "Uhm, you can swim, right?"

As Draco nodded, Harry continued chuckling. "Good. Well, I'll explain to you when we're on our way to the beach. Finish your breakfast first."

When they arrived at the snorkeling bay, Harry rented their outfits. "We're not really gonna wear that!" Draco said astonished.

"Yes, we are. Just like all the Muggles. Look!" Harry waved around laughing. Draco spotted several other people wearing the same weird glasses with the tube and the flappy shoes.

"Why can't we just take some Gillyweed?" he asked Harry when they entered the water and put on their flippers. Harry almost fell over when he burst out laughing. "What do you think the Muggles would say if they saw us sprout gills all of a sudden? Muggles don't know Gillyweed Draco!"

"Oh. How stupid of them. It would be much better than having to breathe down a tube. What if you get water in it?"

"Then you have to blow it out!" Harry rolled his eyes. "Come on! I'd almost say you're scared!"

"Am not!" Draco called out indignantly, following the dark-haired wizard into deeper water. It took some getting used to breathing through the tube while keeping your face in the water, but after a while they both floated in the water relaxed, watching the colorful fishes swim beneath them.

"I'm gonna see if I can dive," Harry shot him a grin and disappeared almost immediately. He dove deeper, swimming around for almost a minute before emerging again. Draco burst out laughing uncontrollably when Harry choked, not blowing out the water but inhaling it instead.

"I thought you said you had to blow the water out?" he hiccupped.

"I knew the theory. It's quite different to blow in practice," Harry coughed loudly, grabbing Draco's arm for support.

"You don't know how to blow?" Draco wiggled his eyebrows, making Harry burst out in another fit of coughs.

"Again, I know the theory," Harry laughed, slapping him playfully. "Let me see what you can do! Let's dive together this time!"

They practiced diving for a while, until they were able to swim just above the bottom of the sea, examining the coral and anemones that grew around the reefs.

Draco was just about to give up and say that he wanted to go back to land when Harry grabbed his wrist and pointed at some dark rocks ahead of them. They swam there together, but Draco decided they weren't interesting after just a glance at them. He was cold and he wanted to get out of the water.

"What? Didn't you see that?" Harry gasped for air when he emerged beside him.

"What? Come on, I'm cold and I wanna get out. We can come back here some other time," Draco grabbed Harry's hand to drag him towards the coast. They'd drifted away quite a distance.

"Didn't you see the marks on those rocks?"

"What marks?"

"I don't know exactly, but they looked like ancient runes," Harry said enthusiastically.

"You're fucking kidding! There were no ancient runes on there!" Draco called out incredulously.

"Come on. Just one last dive and I'll show you."

A few minutes later Draco had to admit that it were ancient runes that Harry had discovered.

"Muggles don't know ancient runes, do they? It's a wizarding thing," Draco wiped the hair out of his face when they emerged once again.

"Yeah. I wonder what it says," Harry nodded.

"It was a description, like a map, but it's speaking in riddles."

"Wha – how do you know?"

"I took ancient runes," Draco shrugged.

"You did?"

"Yeah. It's the oldest wizard language. And my father's all about traditions, you know," he rolled his eyes. "This is actually the first time I'm glad I took the stupid subject."

"A map to what?"

"Some kind of – I don't know," Draco frowned. "Wait a second."

They both dived again, Draco trying to translate the runes and Harry trying to remember what they looked like.

"We really have to get out now, I'm freezing," Harry's teeth clattered when they emerged again hours later.

"Damn. Yeah, you're right. We can come back here another time."

* * *

"Quit breathing down my neck, will you?"

Harry quickly stepped away from the table, but Draco didn't sound like he was really annoyed. "Sorry?" Harry grinned. "I'm just curious what it says!"

"I know, me too! But you're not helping me concentrate here. Runes are easily misinterpreted, so I want to be sure what they say before I tell you."

"You're mean!" Harry pouted.

"I just know how big your imagination is. You're gonna come up with a thousand theories based on just one line," Draco turned around and faced his friend. When Harry threw him an indignant look, the blonde burst out laughing. "Why don't you go work on your tan or something, and I'll keep on translating, okay?"

"Work on my tan? I'm not a girl!"

"Alright, alright. Then just go to the beach," Draco smirked. "And don't forget to cast a sunblock charm on yourself."

"Sunblock? I only use a sun-protection spell ..." Harry's voice trailed off when he realized that indeed he had been working on his tan. Draco's skin on the other hand was as pale as it had ever been. Just like it should be.

"You really want me out of here?"

"I'll be able to translate much quicker when you're not here, yeah."

"Fine. I'll go to the beach," Harry sighed.

"What a punishment! I'm stuck here translating riddles!"

The two friends looked at eachother for a moment, then burst out laughing at the same time.

"It's good to have you back Draco. I'll go then, got to avoid overkill," Harry laughed and slapped his friend's shoulder playfully.

"Got to work on your tan," Draco retorted and aimed a kick at the other wizard. Harry's laughter echoed all through the suite when he gathered his stuff and left. The same ritual repeated itself the next four days, with Draco getting more eager and Harry more impatient every day.

* * *

"Harry!" Draco skidded to a halt and flopped down on Harry's towel. The dark-haired wizard rolled over just in time to avoid being crushed.

"Hey!" Harry gave him a wide smile. "I've never been happier to see you. Tell me what you got. Anything good?"

Draco looked into the green eyes up close and opened his mouth to answer, but then he realized there was a girl lying close to Harry, watching them intently. "Hi I'm Draco," he bent over Harry and extended his hand to the girl.

"Urgh! Draco, you're crushing me," Harry complained and wrapped his arms around the blonde to roll him over.

"You getting frisky? In the middle of the beach?" Draco shot him a naughty grin.

"What's going on here? Harry, I thought ... are you gay or something?" the girl said with an unhappy face.

"He swings both ways. I don't though, I'm gay. So ... sorry but a threesome's not gonna happen," Draco smiled his sweetest smile at the girl and watched her leave quickly.

"Smooth, real smooth. No way I'm gonna get her home tonight!" Harry rolled his eyes.

"Whatever! Still wanna know what I've translated?"

Harry's expression changed immediately. "Of course!" he sat up eagerly.

'_He who seeks in the water, seeks in the sky. Go where the turtles build their nests in Archipiélago de Col__ó__n. _

_Only the brave of heart will find the path, but alas! The smart one will understand the directions and only the cunning one will reach the destination.  
_

_But behold! And do not start the journey to everlastingness in haste. _

_He who possesses all qualities to be great, will succeed. _

_He who dreams of being great, will fail and lose everything._

_He whose greatest desire it is to destroy the means to no end, will die.'_

"What do you think it means?" Harry looked at his friend expectantly.  
"I really don't know."

"You're sure you got the translation right?"

"Yeah. I used three different books, so I'm pretty sure I got all the words right now," Draco nodded.

"You're the best! You've done your part, now I'm gonna find out what it means," Harry put a sloppy kiss on Draco's cheek and jumped up.

"Wanna join me for a swim first?" Draco looked up at him expectantly. Harry's eyes shot to the inviting sea, then back to the translation in the bag.

"Come on! Don't you think I deserve some fun now? We're on holiday for Merlin's sake!" Draco rolled his eyes.

"Yes, yes of course!" Harry held out his hand. Draco pulled himself up, grinning at his friend. Draco quickly pulled off his shirt and they raced eachother to the water, dodging the groups of teenagers and young adults scattered around the beach.

They ended up swimming and goofing around in the water for the rest of the afternoon. They had so much fun, the riddles and runes were wiped out of their minds for the time being. After they got back to the hotel though, the intriguing inscriptions sprang back at them.

"How are you gonna get your answers? I don't think there's a wizard library here," Draco wondered out loud when they'd changed out of their swimming outfits.

"I don't think so either, but there's this great Muggle invention that will probably give me some answers."

"A Muggle invention?" Draco said doubtfully. He didn't think Muggles were capable of inventing great things, let alone something that could help them solve this riddle.

"It's called the internet. There's loads of information on there. I don't think it will help finding out what the riddle is about, because wizards don't use the internet, and this obviously is something very old. But I hope it will at least help me find out where Archipiélago de Colón is."

"Do you think it's somewhere near?"

"I really don't know. It does sound Spanish," Harry shrugged. "Dinner first?"

After a relaxed dinner with a couple of beers, they went back to their suite together.

"You're not gonna find the internet right now, are you? It's evening, I'm sure it's closed."

Harry burst out laughing. "It's not a building or something. It doesn't close. But yeah, it can wait until tomorrow. You're the hero of today, so you deserve ... uhm ... what do you wanna do?"

"Let's go clubbing together. "

"Cool. I kind of like clubbing now, now that I finally figured out how to dance and seduce the girls," Harry shot his friend a naughty grin.

"Seduce the girls?" Draco pulled a dirty face.

"Well, I haven't tried it on any guys yet. I think it will work on them too though. You want me to show you some tricks I learned?"

"You mean you want to teach me how to flirt?" Draco's eyebrows when so high that they disappeared under his silvery locks.

Harry shrugged his shoulders. "Only if you want. I think it can be fun though! And you were the one who said that you deserve to have some fun!"

"Okay, I'll let you show me some moves. On one condition."

"Damn, you never go easily, do you?" Harry let out an exasperated sigh. "Okay, let's hear the condition."

"You let me pick your clothes for tonight."

Harry didn't even have to think about that. "Deal."

"The Galapagos Islands? What the hell is that?"

"A group of islands," Harry shrugged. "That's what Archipiélago de Colón is commonly called."

"And it's near, right?"

"Not exactly," Harry chuckled. "West of Ecuador, South America. It's in the middle of the Pacific Ocean."

Draco let out a groan. "Just around the corner."

"By Portkey it is."

"We're not gonna go there! _Do not start the journey in haste_!" Draco quoted one of the lines.

"I'm not saying we're going there right now," Harry chuckled. "And you don't have to come with me if you don't want. But there's quite a big chance that one day I'm going there!"

"You're too curious for your own good! It's gonna get you in trouble one of these days!" Draco pulled an angry face.

"Good! I was wondering when I would get in trouble, it's been too quiet!" Harry rolled his eyes. "Don't be such a spoilsport! There's nothing dangerous there, it's just an innocent riddle!"

"Innocent? Didn't you understand the part about losing everything? Or the part about dying?" Draco's eyes almost popped out.

"The one who wants to destroy something is gonna die. I'm not planning on destroying anything. I just wanna know what this is all about. What's hidden out there."

"I'm gonna come with you. But we're not leaving until we know what's hidden. We're gonna come prepared for whatever it is. This is something old and if they leave a clue on the other side of the world, it could very well be dangerous."

Harry raised his hands in defeat. "Okay, okay. We're gonna find out what it is and prepare. Where?"

Draco burst out laughing. "Impatient much? I think it's best to start research back home. The easiest place to start is the Black's library. Plenty ancient books there."

"You wanna go home?" Harry said surprised.

"No. It can wait another week, Harry. The rocks have been out there thousands of years, it can all wait until our holiday is over."

"It doesn't make sense. You think it can be something dangerous, but you wanna wait?"

"I'm taking the inscriptions seriously. It said not to be hasty. So that's what I plan on doing," Draco looked at his friend who was pacing the room.

"So you really think this could be dangerous? Then do you think it would be wise to destroy the rocks? Or at least the inscriptions?"

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that. We can use the last week to study them and see if there's anything else to be found there, and when we're sure we didn't miss anything we can destroy them," the blonde nodded.

"Better safe than sorry?"

"Exactly."


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

"Welcome home! Wow Harry, you look great!" Hermione hugged him tightly and took his suitcase from him. "Uhm, you had a good time too Draco? It seems like you didn't spend as much time in the sun as Harry has?" Hermione turned to the blonde insecurely.

"We had a great time!" Harry called out excited. "We both spent a lot of time on the beach, and we went snorkeling, it was awesome!"

"Yeah, it was great," Draco shot Harry a big grin. "I'm not as vain as Harry, working on his tan every day," he smirked at Hermione.

"Oh shut up you!" Harry slapped Draco's arm playfully when they took all their luggage inside.

"Harry! Glad to have you back man!" Ron hurried towards them. "And you're back too," he gave Draco a doubtful look.

"Yeah. Still alive."

"I took him to the beach, hoping he'd burn down, but that didn't work. Then I took him snorkeling, hoping he'd drown, but unfortunately he knows how to swim. I guess I just wasn't lucky," Harry laughed at Ron, knowing he still hated Draco for some unknown reason.

"You weren't lucky? I'd say you got lucky enough times," Draco snorted.

"Brilliant! Tell me all about it," Ron shot his girlfriend a quick look before the pulled Harry to the living room. "Got laid a lot?" he said much softer. Draco followed them instantly, much to Ron's annoyance. "I hoped you two would get into a fight," Ron added a lot louder.

"Oh, we did," Draco laughed. "But sadly enough for you, we made up."

"Grow up Ron," Harry rolled his eyes.

"So? Loads of girls there?"

"Oh yeah, loads! We went clubbing, at first it wasn't so good though because we didn't know the music and we definitely didn't know how to dance, but later on it was great! Learnt a lot of tricks too," Harry grinned cheekily.

"Tricks?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows.

"The guy learnt to flirt," Draco laughed, plopping down on the couch on Harry's other side.

"Oh yeah! And I taught Draco too," Harry wiggled his eyebrows.

"Yeah right!"

Ron looked up when he heard his girlfriend enter the room.

"You're not gonna keep Harry all to yourself Ron," she shot him a dirty look. "Not after we haven't heard from him for so many weeks!"

"I sent you three postcards!" Harry said indignantly.

"Yeah, thanks for them," Hermione said hurriedly.

"So? Clubbing?" Ron changed the subject back.

"Oh. Yeah," Harry nodded vigorously. "As I was saying, I taught Draco to flirt too," he laughed when Draco groaned. When Ron snorted loudly, Draco shot him an evil look. "What's so funny?"

"Somehow I can't picture you with a girl," the red-head snorted.

"Draco got more than enough attention. There were plenty – people dancing with him," Harry said, catching himself just in time.

"What about you Harry?" Hermione asked curiously.

"He brought plenty girls to the hotel," Draco answered. He and Harry both didn't miss the surprised look on Hermione's face, causing them both to think that Hermione suspected that Harry was into guys.

"But they just danced with you," Ron smirked at Draco. "You didn't take any girl home."

"Why would I want to take a girl home?" Draco called out disgusted. The moment the saw the surprised look on Ron's face, Draco knew he'd outed himself accidentally.

"You're gay?" Ron said taken aback. "Well, we should have known all along," he smirked.

"You'd be surprised if you knew how many people are gay," Harry said calmly. "Definitely loads of them in Spain, so I'd think there are quite a few in the wizarding world too."

This earned him another curious look of Hermione and Draco held his breath. Was Harry gonna come out to them as well?

"Anyway, what have we missed? We haven't met a single wizard, so we're way out of time with the news," Harry looked at Ron and Hermione expectantly. "How's everybody doing? How's Teddy?"

Draco let his breath escape slowly, slightly disappointed. They didn't share everything then!

"Draco?"

The blonde looked up, apparently they'd asked him something while he was miles away. "Yeah?"

"You gonna come along tomorrow?" Harry said expectantly. "He always loves it when you're there!"

"Sure," he answered without thinking. "Uhm, who?"

"Teddy," Hermione grinned. "Are you still in holiday mode?"

"No, wrackspurt got me," Draco snorted, then stood up and gestured upstairs. "I'm gonna – see ya later."

"So, did anything happen on holiday? Any adventures?"

Harry tore his gaze from the door and looked at his two best friends. "Nope. Nothing."

"It's great, isn't it? Being able to go on holiday without anything happening, without getting into trouble," Hermione sighed, a dreamy look on her face.

"She's already planning our next holiday," Ron whispered at his friend.

"Really? Are you sure she's not planning your honeymoon?" Harry whispered back, causing him to turn red instantly.

"You think so?" he said in a croaky voice.

"What?" Hermione snapped back to reality.

"Nothing," the two men chorused, earning a very suspicious look from her.

"Yeah right."

"Wanna go out for dinner?" Ron changed the subject quickly.

"Nah, I'd rather eat here, we've been out for dinner every day for a month straight. Kreacher knew we'd come home today, right?" Harry looked around worried, he hadn't seen the old house-elf yet.

"He's in the kitchen, he's been cleaning all day," Hermione nodded. "Don't make him cook dinner also!"

"Yeah, we can eat out," Ron nodded his head vigorously.

"I'll ask Kreacher whether he wants to make dinner," Harry said to Hermione, then turned to his other friend. "You love Kreacher's cooking. You only wanna go out because you don't wanna eat with Draco."

* * *

"Draco?" Harry knocked his door cautiously.

"Yeah?"

"Can I come in?"

"Sure."

Harry could just picture him rolling his eyes and opened the door. "Why'd you disappear?"

"I know Weasley hates me. I wanted to give you some time alone with your friends."

"It would have been enough if you skipped dinner. You didn't have to keep hiding all evening. They left early because they thought I was tired," Harry pulled a funny face and sat down on the edge of Draco's bed. "You okay?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I?"

"It's almost noon and you're still in bed."

"Oh. Well, I'm just lazy?" Draco gave him half a smile.

"I thought you agreed to come with me to see Teddy. Please? You know I'm not that good with little kids."

"Granger knows how to –"

Harry cut him off. "They're not coming. They were just giving me the message that Andromeda is expecting me."

"Oh," Draco merely shrugged. "Okay then."

Harry examined his friend's face thoughtful. "You didn't mean to come out yesterday, did you?"

Draco didn't respond, which in itself was an answer to Harry. "And you thought that I would come out too?"

"Why didn't you? Are you ashamed of being attracted to men?" Draco flared up.

"Are you? You didn't mean to tell them either."

"They're not _my_ friends, so why would I want to tell them?" the blonde spat.

"If they're not your friends, why does it matter that they know?" Harry said calmly.

"Everybody will know!"

"You think they're gonna run to the papers? Not likely. And I'm sorry Draco, but I don't think you being gay is such big news."

Draco flared up angrily, but Harry stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not trying to insult you, I'm just saying that I don't think you'll be all over the papers, even if other people hear about it. And if anybody speaks ill of you, don't you think I'll defend you?"

"You will? In public?"

"Defend you? Of course! You're one of my best friends now, didn't you know?" Harry smiled.

"I am?" it came out more childish than Draco intended, but Harry didn't laugh.

"Yes you are. There aren't many people that I can tolerate around me all day and night, not anymore. Most people get on my nerves."

"I've felt that way since I was little," Draco snorted.

"That's because you're a spoiled, stuck-up rich kid," Harry grinned. "I, on the other hand – no, it's not something to joke about. I just feel like most people got their priorities wrong. They care about petty things, get worked up over nothing, and they don't care about the things that really matter. You got your priorities right, that's why we – we click."

Draco looked at him thoughtful. "And how does it fit in – how come you haven't told your friends yet that you're gay? Being who you are is one of the main priorities, isn't it?"

"It is. I don't feel like I'm pretending to be someone else. If I fall in love with a guy, I'll tell them. Or maybe some time before that I'll tell them, if the time is right. It's not such a big deal to me," Harry shrugged. "And if people speak badly of you for being gay, well maybe then the time is right for me to come out. I'll be at your side, no matter what."

"It will be a huge scandal."

"I know. Again, a matter of getting not getting your priorities right. What does it matter who I love? Why would it matter if I end up with a guy? I'd love him, right? What can be wrong about that?" Harry clearly remembered all the times professor Dumbledore had told him how important it was that Harry was capable of loving. It had always seemed so trivial, unimportant to him. He'd thought it was Dumbledore's old age that made him say that, but just after the war ended Harry had realized the wise man had been right all along.

"You're right, of course. But actually I meant that it would be a huge scandal that we're both gay and living together. And we just spent a whole month away from the wizarding world. Together," Draco broke through his reverie.

"So?"

"I'm just saying ... huge ... scandal."

Harry smiled at the blonde. "What's the worst that can happen? Us being all over the papers? I'm all over it now too. They'll call you names? They do that now too."

"I guess you're right. But doesn't it bother you that they'll think we're a couple?" Draco studied a loose thread on his sheet.

"People will see what they want to see. If they think we're a couple, they'll see the evidence for that. They'll see us smile at eachother, they'll see us walk the streets together, they'll see us go out together. If they're lucky they'll see me kissing you," Harry laughed softly and pressed a kiss to Draco's cheek. "It doesn't bother me at all, because – well I could do worse, eh? You're good-looking, hot and sexy. The man who ends up with you, is the luckiest bastard in the world."

"Let me know if that person finds out!" Draco grumbled and smacked Harry's head with a pillow.

"Just trying to cheer you up!" Harry laughed, holding his arms over his head protectively. "Get your lazy ass out of bed. We're leaving in half an hour."

"Yes mum," Draco rolled his eyes when Harry reached the door.

"What?" Harry wheeled around, a threatening look on his face.

"Oh, sorry. Yes dad!" Draco smirked. Harry crossed the room in a few steps, flaying himself on top of the blonde.

"You were saying?" he repeated in a low voice. Draco couldn't answer though, all air was knocked out of him by the shorter, but much more muscled man.

"Eh?" Harry pulled his most threatening face, hoisting himself up on his knees and hands.

"Uhm," Draco shot him a cheeky grin.

"Well?"

"Nothing," the blonde shook his head. "I didn't say anything."

"Damn right," Harry poked his side before he jumped off the bed. "Make sure you're downstairs in half an hour, or I'll send Kreacher up. You know he'll transport you downstairs whether you're dressed or not."

"That's really low, threatening with Kreacher," Draco glared.

"It's really effective though. Besides, you're the one who agreed to come with me. Don't you like family visits? Andromeda is your mother's sister, after all."

"Nice! Real nice Potter! Remind me of that!" Draco groaned, grabbing around for a pillow to throw at Harry.

The dark-haired man burst out laughing at the look on his face. "I still love you though!" he hiccupped before darting out the door, leaving a dumbfounded Draco behind.

* * *

"Harry!" Draco skidded to a halt when he found him in the living room, reading an old book.

"You found something?" Harry jumped up, trying to read the look on Draco's face. He held up his hand, trying to catch his breath.

"It's bad!" he panted.

"What!"

"The runes. Dark magic. Ancient, and the blackest of magic imaginable!"

"No way!" Harry sank to the couch, losing all feeling in his legs.

"I'm sure of it. I found references to it in a book. It's clear that it's something very dark, evil."

"Are you sure? How do you know it was referring to the runes we found?"

"It used the exact same words. 'Everlastingness' and 'means to no end'. It didn't explain what it is, but – well read for yourself," Draco made a helpless gesture.

"Where's the book?"

"It wouldn't leave the library," Draco jumped up and headed for the door, then turned and showed his damaged hands and arms. Harry stopped him and examined his wounds first.

"Want me to heal you?" he said quietly when Draco winced. The blonde shrugged his shoulders. "Or you could do that later."

Harry shook his head and concentrated for a moment. He breathed out relieved when he saw that he'd cast the spell effectively, healing the nasty cuts perfectly.

"Thanks," Draco rubbed his lower arm unconsciously, but Harry caught his wrist. He turned the arm open and examined the skin of the blonde.

"Does it hurt?"

"No. It kind of tingles sometimes, usually when something good happens. Not unpleasant but it's a weird feeling," Draco said honestly.

"It's fading quickly. Much quicker than I'd expect of any tattoo," Harry rubbed the skin softly. Draco shivered, then let out a short laugh. "You don't hear me complaining about that."

Harry looked up in the grey eyes, letting go of his wrist. "The book?"

They hurried to the Black's library together where Draco pointed him to the right paragraphs in the battered book. Harry couldn't do anything but agree with Draco. It didn't leave them any clues to what it was though.

"We've been searching for three weeks, and all we found is this one reference. We could search the remaining books, but after that I think there's only one person we can ask for help. Who can help us get further," Harry said thoughtful.

"My dad." "McGonagall," they said at the same time.

"What?" they looked at eachother astounded.

"Ancient dark magic? Got to ask my dad where to find more information. He probably has some hidden stash of books at the Manor," Draco shrugged his shoulders.

"McGonagall is headmaster of Hogwarts now. They've also got a hidden stash of books about ancient dark magic," Harry explained his choice. "Best if we ask both of them, don't you think?"

"Yes, you're right."

"Yeah. Although I hate to think that we're gonna get loads of books to read."

"You should have told Granger about it then. She could have read, at least she likes being in the library," Draco snorted.

"I'm not telling Hermione. Or Ron."

"I still don't get why you didn't tell them. Not that I'm complaining."

"Because I know you and Ron don't – I'd rather not force you two to spend time together. And they've suffered through enough because of me. I don't want to disrupt their quiet life," Harry shrugged his shoulders helplessly.

"Seriously, I try to get along with Weasley, but he's just –" Draco gave him half a smile. "But don't you ever say anything like that again! They didn't suffer because of you! They suffered with you, not _because_ of you. It was all because of the Dark Lord," he said fiercely. "Stop blaming yourself!"

"It's easy to say, but it's much harder to do it," Harry said, feeling extremely tired all of a sudden. He rubbed his eyes, leaning back wearily.

"Are you still having nightmares?"

"Yes."

"How often?"

Harry merely shrugged.

"When's the last time you had a nightmare?"

"Last night."

"You didn't have them anymore on holiday, did you? Did it start again right after the holidays?" Draco said sharply.

Harry nodded without looking up at his friend. "Can't help it."

"What if I sleep next to you? So I can wake you up?"

Harry eventually looked up, studying his friend's concerned face.

"The bedroom next to you I mean," Draco said hurriedly.

"I don't want to keep you up at night also."

"Do you think I'll sleep soundly if I know that you could be having a nightmare two floors below me?"

"Oh. Well. Alright. Thanks Draco," Harry smiled at the other wizard genuinely, getting an equal smile back.


	10. Chapter 10

_Chapter 10_

"Hey!" Harry smiled surprised when he found Ron and Hermione on his doorstep. "Come in!"

They went to the living room, where Harry had been playing chess with Draco. "Afternoon," he nodded curtly, earning him a nod from Ron and a beaming smile of Hermione. "How are you Draco? Lovely day, isn't it?"

Harry plopped down on the couch, looking at his friends expectantly. Something was going on obviously.

"We got news," Hermione beamed.

"We're getting married," Ron shot his best friend a goofy grin.

"Congratulations! Brilliant!" Harry called out and hugged Hermione, planting a kiss on her cheek. Then he pulled Ron in a rib-cracking hug.

"You finally picked up the courage to pop the question, eh?" Harry's face mirrored the two huge smiles.

"Yes he did," Hermione sighed happily.

"Will you be my best man?" Ron said nervously.

"Of course! I'd be honored! This is awesome!" Harry called out enthusiastically.

"Will it be okay if I asked Ginny to be my maid of honor?" Hermione asked him.

Harry was about to answer that he was totally fine with it, but then he got distracted by Draco. The blonde had snorted and stood up to leave the room. Harry scowled at him, then turned back to the newly engaged couple. "Of course! Now tell me, how did he do it?"

* * *

"Malfoy!" Harry opened the door so hard that it slammed into the wall. Draco jumped up from the bed where he'd been reading and looked at Harry's angry face.

"Why the hell did you do that? Do you want to spoil every good moment?" he said livid, stepping up to Draco so they were nose-to-nose. The blonde stepped back until he felt his back hit the wardrobe. Harry put his hands on the mahogany doors on either side of the other wizard's shoulders. "Couldn't you at least congratulate them? Do you have to be the biggest ass in the world?"

Draco looked into the burning green eyes barely inches away from him and felt all color leave his face. "Get a grip Potter. I didn't spoil anything," he said, but his voice was trembling slightly.

"Why? WHY?" Harry bellowed. "Do you hate them that much that you have to spoil the happiest day of their life?"

"I don't."

"What is it in Ron that you hate so much?"

"I don't hate him!" Draco yelled back, pushing at Harry's chest with all his might, but the dark-haired man didn't budge.

"Then what?"

All resistance seemed to leave the Draco's body. "Don't you see? I'm jealous of him. He has everything. Everything I ever wanted."

"He – what?" Harry's voice faltered.

"He's the hero. His whole family is. They're one big happy family and everybody loves him. And now he's getting married to someone who loves him more than anything in the world."

Harry stared into the grey eyes confused. "Your family loves you. All your mother cares about, is you. And you may not get married, but I'm sure you'll find the man of your dreams. You are a great guy and some day you'll find ..." Harry's voice trailed off when he saw Draco shake his head.

"No. I don't believe that the man of my dreams will ever love me," he said in a soft voice. "And you know what else Ron has? He's got you as his best friend."

Harry lowered his hands a little, resting them on the other man's shoulders. "You've also got me as your best friend."

"You ..."

"You're both my best friends. Draco, how do you think all this makes me feel? Don't you think I get jealous sometimes? I don't have any family. I'm the fucking Chosen One, do you think anybody will ever see past that and love me for who I really am? All I can get is holiday flings in the Muggle world. But that's not the point. The point is, that even though I'm not as lucky as Ron and Hermione, I can be happy for them anyway. I get over my petty jealousy and celebrate with them. And how do you think it makes me feel that two of my best friends – "

"I'm sorry. I'll try to ... be better. I'll try to be the bigger man, like you."

"Okay. I believe in you Draco. I believe that deep down inside you're good," Harry put his hand on the other man's heart.

"Harry? I know it can't compare to having a family, but you've got three friends who will do anything for you. They'd go through hell and back to make you happy. And don't lose faith that you'll find ... a boyfriend or a girlfriend. There are people who see past the glamour of the Golden Boy, like me. Who like you for who you are, a hot-headed, but always honest friend."

Harry cracked a small smile, but the words touched him deeply. He hugged the taller man tightly, burying his face in his neck.

"Do you think I should send them flowers or something, to congratulate them? Or would that be too gay?" Draco pulled back after a few minutes, throwing his friend a tentative smile.

"They're still downstairs, you could talk to them in person."

"You're going out for dinner with them?"

"Yes, we're going out for dinner," Harry nodded, looking at the pale face expectantly.

"And you want me to join you, right?"

"Only if you think you can behave."

"I can, Harry. I can," he nodded his head convincing. The dark-haired wizard smiled at him and gave his hand a small squeeze when they headed downstairs together.

* * *

"Hey!" Draco smiled when he got home. "Where are your glasses?"

"I got my eyes fixed at St. Mungo's," Harry got up from his chair, slowly, gracefully. "I never forgot how you told me I look beautiful without the glasses."

"I did?" Draco's eyes swerved over the other man's body when he approached him purposely. Harry was wearing his favorite jeans that hung round his hips snugly, and a shirt that was only buttoned halfway up. Draco swallowed hard when Harry stopped right in front of him. He felt himself drown in the emerald green eyes when the other man put his hands on Draco's cheeks. The air seemed to crackle around them when they slowly bridged the distance and their lips locked in a sweet kiss, their bodies blending together perfectly. Draco fisted the dark hair to keep them locked together and felt himself get hard immediately. Harry moaned deep in his throat and ground his body to the taller man, circling his arms around him. When he cupped his ass, their erections rubbed against eachother, causing them both to gasp for air.

"Bedroom," Harry breathed in Draco's ear just before he kissed the pale skin, his lips skimming the outline of his jaw before settling on his throat. Draco whimpered, only keeping upright because the other man had his arms wrapped around him tightly. Their mouths crashed together and they kissed eachother passionately as they made their way up the stairs.

"God you're beautiful," Harry whispered when he'd undressed Draco, his green eyes taking in every detail of the slender body. The blonde pulled him onto the bed next to him and made short works with his clothes, impatient to see the broad chest, to trace his fingers over the tanned skin on his arms, the muscled legs, the toned abs. He got exactly what he wanted when he hovered over Harry's body, making him squirm and moan beneath him as he explored every inch of skin with his lips and fingers. Harry bucked his hips up and the blonde made his way down his chest and stomach, briefly dipping his tongue in his bellybutton, eliciting a strangled moan from the dark-haired man. Draco swept his tongue over his hard cock, circling the head slowly. He tasted even better than he remembered of their very first, drunk, get-together. The blonde gently tugged on Harry's balls when he kissed his cock, pressing his tongue to the slit. Harry's back arched off the bed, his breathing coming out ragged and endless moans escaping his lips. Draco took him in his mouth, softly sucking and teasing him with his tongue. When Harry's body tensed up, Draco watched the white hot cum shooting out, leaving sticky traces on his belly. Harry's body relaxed, his eyes still closed and his mouth slightly open when Draco crawled higher.

"You're so hot when you look like that," the blonde whispered in his ear and swept his tongue over the delicious, sweaty skin in his exposed neck. Harry wrapped his arms around the blonde and snuggled up to him.

Next thing Draco knew, he woke up alone in a cold bed. He pulled on his shorts and went downstairs to look for Harry. He followed the noise and found him in the living room, putting things in boxes.

"I want you out of my house!" he bellowed.

"What? What's going on Harry?" Draco stammered.

"You! You seduced me! We agreed to be just friends! And then you seduce me! Get out and take all your stuff, I never want to see you again!" Harry's green eyes were livid.

"But – Harry! I didn't do anything! You came on to me!" Draco said in a trembling voice. What the hell had happened?

"Lies! All you ever did in your life was lie! I can't believe I bought it, that I thought you were a good guy now!"

"No! No, don't kick me out! Please! I promise it will never happen again! I never lied –"

"GET OUT!" Harry pulled out his wand. Draco didn't even think of drawing his own wand, he covered his face with his arms and turned away.

With a loud thud! he fell to the floor, tangled in his sheets. He was panting, sweating, tears streaming down his face and he realized he'd had a nightmare. He got up from the floor gingerly, his body shaking all over. Only when he noticed the sticky mess in his boxers, he remembered that the dream had started off really good.

He'd just stripped off his clammy clothes and pulled on some clean pants when he heard a strangled cry from the next room. His head snapped up, his ears strained to pick up any other sound.

"Harry! Wake up!" he gently slapped his friend's cheek, keeping his flailing arms at bay with his other hand.

"No! Don't –" Harry's eyes flew open and his body relaxed visibly when he saw Draco's pale face, lit by the moonlight. "Damn. Fucking nightmares!" he scolded and sank back in the pillows.

"Same one again?"

"Yeah. Thanks for waking me up, it had only just started," Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly. "You were awake?"

Draco realized he was only wearing his boxers at the same time Harry noticed. "Uhm. Yeah, I just woke up. Had a nightmare myself," he mumbled.

"Must have been a bad one. You're all clammy," Harry put his hand on the other man's arm gently.

"Bed's soaked through and I woke up on the floor," Draco pulled a funny face, but he couldn't stop a shiver running down his spine.

"Put on something warm and join me," Harry patted the spot next to him in his big double bed.

"No, I –"

"Don't be ridiculous. There's no need to wake Kreacher up and I wouldn't know where he keeps clean sheets," Harry shook his head determinedly, but then he saw the hesitant look on Draco's face. "You scared of me? I promise I won't seduce you," he chuckled lightly. Another, more violent shiver ran through the blonde's body. Harry jumped out of bed and handed him a warm shirt. "You're not coming down with the flu, are you? Now, get in," he opened the blankets and gently pushed his friend into bed.

"Maybe I am. I should -"

"You're not going anywhere. Care to tell me what your dream was about?" Harry smiled at him friendly. Draco shook his head violently.

"Okay. Never mind. Damn, I'm wide awake," Harry scowled in the dark.

"Me too."

"Well it's much better to lie awake together than alone," the dark-haired man chuckled. "So, have you finished that last book yet?"

"What? How can you be ... so cheery after you just had that horrible nightmare?"

"If you have it several times a week, you learn to let go easily. It's just a dream, Draco."

"I hope so," Draco shivered. Harry turned to his side and looked at his friend.

"You know ... your mother misses you."

Draco's eyes flew wide open, reflecting the moonlight.

"I visited her last week. And I think it's time we visit your father."

"You visited my mother? Why?" Draco's voice was barely a whisper.

"I hadn't thanked her yet. I don't think my words mattered much to her, but she was most happy to hear that you're doing okay. She'd heard the rumors that you're living with me, but she didn't know if she should believe it. She's quite lonely, all the connections they had, they've abandoned her. Nobody wants to be associated with her, even though Narcissa was never convicted."

"Hold on, hold on. You hadn't thanked her yet? For what?"

"For saving my life," Harry said simply.

"You've said that before, that she saved your life. But you never told me how."

"You never asked me. I thought you didn't want to know."

"I want to know. I'm asking you now," Draco hoisted himself up in the pillows. Harry told him in detail about the last hour with Voldemort, how Narcissa had lied that Harry was dead and how that gave him the opportunity to escape later. Draco listened to him intently, his mouth gaping slightly.

"How is it possible that you didn't die? That you were in some in-between? Twilight zone?" he said in a hushed voice.

"Like I told you, I'm not sure. White magic can conquer dark magic, that's for sure. It had something to do with being prepared to die to free the world from Voldemort and his supporters."

Harry eyed his friend suspiciously, ready to flee if Draco would give him the admiring, doting look that he'd seen on the faces of all the strangers that came running to him every time he was in Diagon Alley or Hogsmeade. Draco stared at the ceiling though, lost in thoughts.

"So Mother told the Dark Lord you were dead."

Harry wasn't sure if Draco was talking to himself, but he answered anyway. "Yes. And I think you know why she did that."

"Tell me."

"All she cared about at that time, was keeping you alive. She realized just in time that ... She lied to Voldemort's face just to be able to get to the castle to find you."

They both remained silent for a while, lost in thoughts.

"She asked me if I would visit her again. She wants to know how you are doing."

"Maybe I should tell her myself how I'm doing," Draco said slowly. "Has she visited Father?"

"Yes. She visits him every week. She asked me if there wasn't anything I could do. Change his life-sentence to – something less. He's not doing so well Draco."

"Of course he isn't doing well! He's surrounded by Dementors!" Draco flared up.

"You still care about them."

Draco lit a lamp and glared at Harry, who smiled back at him kindly. "And you should. They're your family and they love you."

"I just don't know if I can ..."

"I'll go with you if you want. For moral support. And because I know you want to get back at them anyway. They both hate my guts," Harry laughed softly. Draco stared at him for a moment, then laughed too. A shaky laugh, but a laugh all the same. Harry extinguished the lamp and snuggled up under the blankets.

"It's the middle of the night. We should get some sleep."

Draco gave a non-committal grunt and crept under the blankets too.

* * *

"What?" Harry whispered when Draco suddenly gasped for air about an hour later. They'd both been lying there in the dark, knowing the other was still awake too.

"Immortality!"

"What?" Harry frowned.

"Everlastingness. They mean immortality. And the 'means to no end' is the way how to reach no end. How to live on forever."

Draco didn't have to tell Harry that he was talking about the runes they found in the sea in Spain, he'd been thinking about that too. "I think the message we found, it wasn't the first one. It was one in a series that we found accidentally," Harry said slowly.

"Probably. But what if there's someone who's following the whole trail?"

"It would be too much of a coincidence that several people are following the same ancient directions at the same time. Then it would have been found already."

"What if it has been found already?" Draco shuddered in the dark.

"We'd know. Only someone incredibly bad would use dark magic to reach immortali-" Harry stopped abruptly.

"Exactly. What if it tells how to make a Horcrux?"

"I don't think so. If this is how Voldemort found out the incantation, he would have destroyed the trail behind him."

"But you agree with me? It's about how to reach immortality?" Draco raised his eyebrows. He'd expected Harry to disagree, come up with arguments why he was mistaken.

"Yes. You must be right. It makes sense," Harry said in a low voice, sending a shiver through Draco's body.

"I'm glad we didn't start following the directions right away."

"But we must follow them. Once again follow the trail of death." Harry's voice was flat, emotionless.

"But this time it doesn't have to be you who puts an end to it. It can be someone else who destroys it, whatever it is."

Harry looked at his friend in the dark and kept silent. He knew that if he had to choose between dying himself and letting Draco die ... he wouldn't have to think twice.


	11. Chapter 11

_Chapter 11_

"So these are the Galapagos Islands?" Draco looked around suspiciously as soon as their feet slammed to the ground and released the Portkey.

"I guess so," Harry nodded, his wand also at the ready. They were at a deserted beach, in the ocean behind them they could see the outlines of several other islands, and inland they could see vast rainforest to the left and steep, dangerous cliffs right ahead of them.

"So what now?"

"I know as much as you do. Nothing," Harry rolled his eyes and sank to the ground as soon as he was sure there was nobody around. No sign of danger.

"What are you doing?" Draco asked him several minutes later.

"Waiting for a rush of inspiration."

"You're kidding! Let's get moving, see if we find any clues or something," Draco said impatiently.

"You wanna search the whole freaking island? You're mental!"

"And you're just gonna sit here until someone comes along and leads the way!" Draco retorted. He definitely hadn't expected Harry to be so ... inactive. "Come on, you're the big hero! You surely didn't win –"

"Shut up! Shut the fuck up!" Harry jumped up. "I've told you a million times, I'm not some big hero who always knows everything and wins by just looking at something! I always had help, and I'm pretty sure nobody's gonna help us here! Nobody even knows –"

Draco cut him off. "Okay, okay. Sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But we can't just sit here and wait for something to happen, right?"

"Why not? Trouble always seems to find me, so why go looking for it?"

"Harry," the blonde said in an unusual kind, patient voice. "I think we should at least check out the immediate surroundings. See if there's any sign of people, and find a place to stay the night."

"It's 10 am!"

"Yeah, but I don't think we'll just find ... whatever it is we're looking for and be home by sundown. Best be prepared, and find a place to sleep right now, it won't be that easy if it's suddenly dark."

"Okay, okay. Let's take a tour," Harry sighed and stalked off in the direction of the cliffs. Draco frowned, then followed his friend cautiously. He couldn't figure out why Harry seemed so reluctant, so unwilling to start their journey to find the dark object. It should be exciting to start a new adventure, it should give a great feeling to know that you're probably gonna save the world from another Dark Wizard rising and getting immortal. Shouldn't it?

They explored the area around the beach for the next couple of hours, Harry's mood miraculously improving once they were on the move. They soon decided that the cliffs were too steep to climb, only birds nested there. No path to be found anywhere. The rainforest wasn't much different, the plants and trees growing so thick together that they had to make themselves a path. There only was a small path between the cliffs and the forest, leading inward. Where the path opened up onto the beach, there were signs in every language imaginable, warnings and explanations about not disturbing the great turtles when they came onto the beach to lay their eggs once a year.

"I'm pretty sure we're at the right place, at the least," Draco said hopefully. "This is the beach where the turtles come."

"Let's hope they don't come on other beaches too. That we're on the wrong beach," Harry grimaced.

"Great. Keep up the spirit Harry!"

Harry chuckled when he looked at his friend. "Just trying to keep it real. I don't expect to find anything easily."

"Easily? We've been walking around for almost five hours already!"

"Ouch. You didn't get it when I told you we wouldn't see home for several months?" Harry studied the blonde's face.

"I thought you were just being pessimistic."

"I really think this will take at least weeks," Harry shrugged and turned around to walk onto the beach.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm gonna get comfortable and grab some food."

"Brilliant idea. I'm starving. What's for lunch?" Draco jogged after him, plopping down on the warm sand. Harry took off his small backpack that he'd enchanted with Hermione's help and pulled out two large beach towels and a packed lunch. They wolfed down their food and Harry pulled off his shirt and jeans, splaying on the towel on his stomach.

"Cast a protection charm on me, will ya?" he said lazily, closing his eyes.

"You're unbelievable! Sunbathing! We're not on holiday, you know," Draco rolled his eyes, but he cast the charm anyway.

"Got to work on my tan," Harry shot him a cheeky grin. "After all, we told everybody we were going on holiday."

"Again," Draco settled down on his towel comfortably. "Nobody believed it."

"Whatever."

"Whatever," Draco mocked him, earning him a punch on his arm.

* * *

"Harry?"

The dark-haired man woke with a start, grabbing around instantly, then looking up at his friend sheepishly.

"Still looking for your glasses every time you wake up?" Draco smirked.

"Old habits die hard. I've only had my eyes done a couple of weeks ago," Harry found his sunglasses and put them on instead. "Why'd you wake me up?"

"I didn't know you were asleep. I though you were still waiting for your rush of inspiration," Draco smirked.

"Oh." Harry took off his sunglasses again, finding it disturbing to have his look obscured now he'd had perfect eyesight since his trip to St. Mungo's. "Why'd you object when I went to get my eyes fixed?"

"I –" Draco stopped.

"You didn't just object, you practically freaked out."

"I did not." Draco knew it sounded childish, but he just couldn't help it.

"Why?" Harry pressed on. "You were the one who gave me the idea in the first place."

"I just had a bad dream about you getting your eyes fixed. That's all."

"Would that be the nightmare you had the night before?" Harry remembered how Draco had woken him up from a nightmare, having just woken up from a nightmare himself.

"Yes."

"Wow. Was it that bad that I had my eyes fixed?" Harry sneered.

"No, that wasn't the bad part. It all started off quite good, actually. But it all turned bad later on," Draco didn't know why he was telling all this, but he couldn't help himself.

"What happened? The good part?"

"I'm not telling you Potter."

Harry didn't respond, but he noticed the way the blonde rolled to his stomach suddenly, as if he had to hide something. A smirk decorated Harry's face when Draco next looked at him.

"I was in the dream and it started off good," Harry shot him a naughty grin. "Wow. I never thought that would happen again. I thought you'd suppressed all that since we became friends."

"Fuck off Potter."

"No," the dark-haired man smiled at him. A victorious smile that Draco wanted to punch off his face. Something in his face must have given him away, because Harry's smile faded and he lay back down on his towel, resting his head in his hand, his look all serious all of a sudden. "Draco –"

"Thanks for coming with me," the blonde cut him off.

"What?"

"To my mother. And to my father. I know the Dementors took a lot out of you, but thanks for the Patronus."

"Oh. Well, we just had to give your father the chance to relax a little, enough to string his sentences together at least."

"I know how hard it was to cast a Patronus with so many of them around," the blonde shivered despite the beaming sun in the sky. "I couldn't do it," he admitted softly.

"Hey, that's nothing to be embarrassed about," Harry put his hand on the blonde's lower arm. Draco merely snorted.

"Thanks for protecting me against your mother," Harry said in turn.

"Hah. You were perfectly capable of handling her yourself."

"Maybe. But you stood up for me anyway," the dark-haired man simply said and smiled at his friend.

"But she was horrible to you. I wish –"

"Don't worry about it," Harry reassured him for the millionth time it seemed. Why was it always Harry who was saying that everything was alright? Why was Draco never the one to speak words of comfort?

"Really," Harry put his hand on the blonde's shoulder, misinterpreting the scowl. "Hey, why're you wearing so much clothes? Aren't you sweltering hot?"

Draco smirked at him, putting on his sunglasses, then sliding them down a little so he could look over them into the green eyes. "I know you're still drooling over me. I just don't want to tempt you by wearing only my boxers."

This didn't get the reaction Draco had expected. Harry didn't blush, or look away embarrassed or anything of that sort. He laughed. Loud and cheery.

"Don't worry about that Draco. I'm perfectly capable of restraining myself. I know rejection when I see it."

* * *

For three weeks they searched the cliffs, the beach and the rainforest for any signs of magic. Any miniscule drawing of a rune or anything, _anything_ out of the ordinary. They didn't find a single thing.

"Maybe we should go to another beach. Or even another island. This is no use," Draco said exasperated, sinking down onto a small rock.

"You were the optimistic one, saying we were sure to be on the right beach."

"Well, this is the main beach where the turtles are said to –"

Harry started to ask what was wrong, but when he followed Draco's gaze he had his answer.

It was time.

The turtles had come to the island.

For the first evening the two men didn't return to their camp. They didn't leave their place at the base of the cliffs even to get some food. They watched the turtles intrigued, not speaking for hours until they were sure it was way past midnight. When the last turtle had eventually left, they carefully made their way down to the beach. They avoided the messed up patches of sand, knowing that's where the giant turtles had just laid their eggs. Each nest looked exactly the same, bore the same traces made by the turtle's wing-like legs.

"How do they know where this beach is? How do they get back here every year? How do they get back to their birthplace?"

"They navigate by the moon and the stars," Draco answered when he kneeled down beside one of the nests.

"How do you know?" Harry said surprised. He'd just been wondering out loud, not expecting to get an answer.

"Research," Draco rolled his eyes. "We knew we were going to look for the turtles."

Harry remained silent, kneeling down beside his friend, admiring the way the clumsy animal had managed to lay her eggs, buried deep in the sand. He knew they couldn't be clumsy in the water, but they had looked like it when they were crawling up the beach.

"He who seeks in the water, seeks in the sky. Go where the turtles build their nests in Archipiélago de Colón," Harry quietly recited the runes. He unconsciously looked up at the sky when he said the word, and his eyes fixed on the stars behind the steep cliffs. Then slowly his eyes fixed on the cliffs themselves, a frown growing on his face.

"Only the brave will find the path."

Draco turned to look at him startled. Harry's voice had been flat, as lifeless as he'd sounded only a few times before. "It's on the highest top," Harry extended his arm, his index finger pointing. Only now Draco saw the weird construction of the rock, resembling a turtle's nest.

"That's impossible! Nobody can get up there!" he said astonished.

"That's why only the brave of heart will try it," Harry sneered, a tiny bit of his usual voice coming back through the lifeless tone. Draco let out a string of violent curses. He knew that there was no way he could reach that top. And he knew that Harry wouldn't rest before he'd succeeded. Or died.

"Let's get some sleep, and take a closer look at it tomorrow," Draco said softly, extending his hand to his friend. Harry nodded silently and let himself being pulled up by the blonde, following him to their camp silently. They settled down in their sleeping bags after the usual routine of protective charms. They always kept a respectable distance to eachother, close enough to feel safe, but far enough not to bother the other.

Draco slowly started to understand why Harry hadn't been eager to start their journey here. It wasn't just some fun adventure.

* * *

"Harry! Wake up. It's okay, it's just a dream!" Draco grabbed his friend's shoulders firmly, shaking him lightly. Harry woke with a start, a wild look in his eyes.

"It's okay Harry," Draco repeated in a much softer voice. Harry's whole frame relaxed and he flung himself into his friend's arms, uncontrollable sobs escaping his lips.

"Shhhht. It's okay baby," Draco whispered in his hair, rocking him back and forth soothingly. The moment he heard the last word fall from his lips unintentionally, he felt his body start to freeze. He resisted the urge and kept on hugging his friend, comforting him.

"You hadn't had a nightmare since we came here, so you're getting better Harry."

"This was not the old nightmare. A brand new one, and –"

"And what?" Draco pulled back a little to look into the troubled green eyes.

"It was far worse."

"It was just a dream. Just a dream," Draco combed his hand through the messy dark hair. Harry leaned in to the touch, giving his friend a watery smile. Draco found himself enjoying the intimacy. He hadn't been intimate with anybody for such a long time. In fact, not since the last time he'd shared the bed with Harry.

"Stay here. Please," Harry lay back down, pulling him down with him.

"I have to get my sleeping bag first," Draco smiled when Harry tightened his hold on him when he attempted to stand up.

"Oh. Right," he smiled up sheepishly, but he didn't release the pale wrist. Instead he took his wand out from under his pillow and wordlessly cast a charm on his own sleeping bag to enlarge it to twice its normal size. "Now you don't."

Draco hesitated for a moment, but when he looked down in the pleading green eyes, all reasons why this was a bad idea left his mind and he laid down. Harry snuggled up to him, his arm around Draco's waist. "Thank you."

* * *

In the morning they both pretended nothing had happened. Draco hadn't said 'baby' and Harry hadn't begged him to hold him close. During breakfast they talked through the options of reaching the top of the highest cliff, a bit more polite and distant than they'd usually be.

"There's no other option. It has to be done from the air," Harry stated after they'd inspected the foot of the cliff once again. "No way anybody can climb that, not even with magic."

Draco looked at him skeptically. "You're gonna ask one of the seagulls to carry us?"

"I mean by broom."

"You're insane! The wind's unpredictable, it will smash us right into the rocks!"

Harry looked at him for a second. "I'm not asking you to come. I will do it."

"No!" Draco called out, a bit louder than he intended. "No. I can't let you go up there alone."

"Of course you can. If I fall, you can slow me down, or conjure a mattress beneath me or something. Or scrape me from the rocks and heal me. After all, you're best at healing spells," Harry said matter-of-factly. Draco opened his mouth to argue, but then a battered owl landed in front of them. They both goggled at it, then Harry quickly bent down and took the piece of parchment from the bird.

"It's a message from Hermione!" he said shocked.

_Dear Harry and Draco,_

_I hope you two are fine when this owl reaches you. You know I didn't believe it when you said you were going on holiday again, especially not after you'd read every book in your library, then visited Hogwarts and Azkaban. Harry, I know you're after something dangerous if you didn't want to tell me and Ron about it. I don't blame you, I want you to know that I understand. But please know that we'll come to your aid if you need us! And Draco, I know that you'd do anything valiant to clear your name, but please, please, don't rush into anything unknown! Even if you won't believe it, I care for your well-being also. I write this letter to warn you that the Death Eaters are on your trail. There are many of them still on the loose, and four of them have been spotted exactly where you vacationed in Spain. I don't believe this to be coincidence. Be careful and watch your back, and use your DA galleon if you need us._

_Love, Hermione  
_

"Damned!" Harry swore under his breath. "See the date? She wrote this two weeks ago!"

"At least we destroyed the rock with the runes in the sea," Draco grimaced.

"But if they find out –"

Draco cut him off with a grim look on his face. "I know. If they find out we were at that exact same place for weeks, they're gonna come looking for us."

"Damn! I knew we shouldn't have used our real names!" Harry put the piece of parchment in his pocket and jogged back to their camp, Draco following hot on his heels. He rummaged in his backpack, pulling out random stuff until he found what he was looking for. He shouldered his broom and stalked back to the cliffs.

"You're not really –"

"We can't afford to waste more time bickering about how stupid it is to try and reach the top of the cliff," Harry cut him off. "Look, any clue I find up there, I'll copy it onto a piece of parchment. Just keep on going and finish this if ... if I'm not able to."

"No! No no no!" Draco shook his head. "You're not gonna die, you dickhead! You're the best seeker in the history of ... well you're the best seeker ever. You can handle yourself on a broom, you'll be fine. And I'll stand guard, make sure you won't get hurt."

Harry pulled him into a hug, wrapping his arms around the blond so tightly it almost hurt.  
"Go!" Draco urged him, knowing he'd break down if they'd stay here much longer. A faint nauseous feeling was already settling in the pit of his stomach. A few days into their stay on this island they'd mounted their brooms in order to try and examine the cliffs higher up, but they'd given up after just a few minutes. The wind was very strong, and highly unpredictable around the stone peaks, catching them unexpectedly. "Good luck."

Harry nodded at him, his jaw set and his green eyes determined. He tried to say something, but the words seemed to be stuck in his throat. Draco briefly wondered if the dark-haired wizard had been this nervous before his tasks in the Triwizard Tournament.

"I'll watch your back," the blonde tried to smile reassuringly, but he felt his face turn to a grimace instead. Harry swallowed thickly and mounted his broom, kicking off immediately. Draco couldn't help admiring the grace with which Harry always soared on his broomstick. He truly was a natural.

He was almost too scared to watch him soar high into the sky, his clothes whipping around him by the strong ocean wind, but at the same time he couldn't avert his eyes. He kept his wand pointed at his friend the whole time, ready to cast any useful spell if he might fall. Or smash into the cliffs.

His stomach turned when the thought entered his mind and he swallowed back the bile in his throat. He wished it had been the other way around, that he'd been the one risking his life, but he knew that Harry stood a much better chance. He'd have to take the risk at the next stage of their search.

Harry circled the cliffs for an hour, keeping a safe distance at first, but slowly making his circles smaller and smaller. Eventually he seemed to have spotted something, or maybe a safe place to land, and he purposely advanced the sharp grey rock. Draco held his breath, praying that Harry would be alright when he disappeared, obscured by another cliff.

After a few minutes that felt like an eternity, Draco saw Harry soaring towards him at top speed.

"I got it! I got it!" he called out before he'd even landed. Draco grabbed his arm when he skidded to a halt. They were both shaking and they collapsed onto the nearest flat rock.

"Damned! I hope I copied it alright, because I ain't going up there again!"

"Are you okay?" Draco studied him, then gasped when he saw Harry's blood-soaked pants.

"Oh, yeah, skinned my legs pretty bad up there. Cut my hand too. These fucking rocks are sharp!" Harry held out his hand to let his friend clean and heal it. "Thanks. Now what does this mean?" he pushed the crumpled parchment towards the blonde, but he pushed it away.

"Let me have a look at your legs first Harry."

The dark-haired man gave an exasperated sigh. "This is what I risked my life for, you know. Take a look at it!"

Draco looked at the stubborn face and decided the injuries couldn't be that bad if he was still being such a prat. He rolled his eyes and studied the parchment for a couple of minutes.

"Not that hard to translate. Lots of the words are the same as in the first set of runes we found," he eventually said.

_The smart and brave parts are played well. Be cunning. Go to the wolf. There you will find your deepest desires uncovered. _

_If you're worthy, you'll be rewarded. Heed my earlier warnings. _

_Dreams are not enough. Having the deepest desire to destroy, will destroy your own life."  
_

"Did you say _wolf_?" Harry said confused. "There are no wolves here!"

"I know," Draco nodded. "Now take off your trousers."

Harry goggled at him, then remembered he'd injured his legs when he saw the red bloodstains. "Can't we get back to the camp first?"

The blonde looked around, then nodded. This wasn't the most comfortable of places. When he followed Harry over the uneven surface of the rocks, he noticed that he limped, his legs obviously injured worse than just some skinned knees. He hurried to get next to his friend and wrapped his arm around his waist. Harry gratefully leaned on him, putting his arm around Draco's shoulders for some extra support. Back at the camp Draco carefully peeled off the other man's trousers and shoes.

"Sprained my ankle when I landed," Harry grimaced when his rapidly swelling ankle was revealed. Draco worked on him for half an hour, cleaning, cooling, carefully applying salve and finally pulling out some potions, without a word making Harry drink them all. When his friend sagged back into a pillow relaxed and drowsy, Draco applied a bandage to the sprained ankle, wrapping it tightly. Harry winced. "Damned. Don't punish me, will you?"

"It's much worse than I thought at first, and you shouldn't have walked on it at all. You have no idea how much this would have hurt if I hadn't given you all these potions," Draco cracked a small smile, seeing his friend slipping into a blissful sleep.

"Thanks. You should be a healer Draco," Harry said slightly slurred before his eyes shut completely.

* * *

"Draco!" Harry called out loudly when he woke up alone.

"I'm here!" the blonde appeared on the path that lead from their camp to the beach. "How are you feeling?" he smiled when he sat down.

"Quite good actually. What was in those potions? It feels like I've slept for days!" Harry carefully moved his legs, finding out that everything had been healed, including his ankle.

"It's best to let it heal while you sleep," Draco handed him a steaming mug. "Anyway, I know exactly where we have to go, I just don't know yet how to get there. Couldn't leave you alone, so I haven't been able to test my theories."

"You know where the wolf is? Test your theories? How long have I slept?" Harry goggled at him.

"You were right, there aren't any wolves here. It's Wolf Island that I have to go to, it's a tiny island. Nobody ever sets foot there, it's nearly impossible to reach over the water. I'm guessing there's a ward so you won't be able to fly in, Apparate in or use a Portkey. That would be too easy."

"You have to be cunning," Harry nodded, his mind doing a million miles a minute. "Any ideas on that? You're the Slytherin here."

"I think we've got to follow the path, I bet we'll reach a village of some sorts. Ask around if anybody ever set foot on Wolf Island. Maybe there's some old legends or something that can give us a clue."

"You wanna get help from the Muggles?" Harry quirked one eyebrow. "Seriously, how long have I been asleep? A hundred years?"

"What?" Draco looked at him confused.

"Never mind. Muggle fairy tale. Anyway, I'm gonna get dressed and then we can –"

Harry stopped when Draco laughed. "You're not going anywhere. It's just before sunset," he pointed at the reddening sky. "It's gonna be dark in fifteen minutes. You know how quickly it goes around here. You can wash up and get dressed though, and we'll discuss it all some more during dinner. Whenever your potions wore off, I gave you some food and water, but well... I haven't washed you or anything," Draco looked away awkwardly. "And to answer your question, you've been asleep for two-and-a-half days."

"Damn," Harry muttered under his breath and got up on his slightly shaky legs. "Yeah, I'm gonna wash up first then. I bet I'm quite stinky."

"Don't take too long," Draco called after him when he disappeared to the small freshwater stream that they'd been using to bathe. They'd agreed on the first day that they'd never go anywhere alone after dark though, so Harry knew that he had to hurry.

When he came back, Draco was already waiting for him anxiously halfway down the path. The blonde silently asked him if he was okay, concern obvious in his grey eyes.

"I'm fine. Bit shaky, incredibly hungry," Harry said cheerful. "Go back to the kitchen and brew me something good," he shoved the blonde ahead with a cheeky grin.

Draco jogged back to their camp, he indeed had something simmering for dinner. Harry followed him much more slowly, careful not to put too much strain on his ankle. When he reached their little camp, Draco was sitting on one of the logs with his back to him, seemingly lost in thoughts. Harry kneeled down behind him, wrapping his arms around the blonde and resting his chin on Draco's shoulder.

"Thanks for taking care of me," he whispered softly and planted a kiss on the pale cheek. Draco leaned back in the hug for a few seconds, but then he got up and busied himself with stirring the soup.

"You're welcome."

Harry frowned when he watched Draco in the light of the small fire. They'd put it out as soon as dinner was ready, to avoid catching the attention. Harry scooted a bit closer to the warmth and to his friend.

"Draco? Have you washed up at all during these two-and-a-half days?"

"Uhm. No. Couldn't leave you, could I?"

Harry chuckled. He was used to seeing a perfectly clean Malfoy in crisp clothes, but now the blonde was quite resembling what Harry had looked like just before his bath.

"Don't laugh!" Draco scolded. "It's quite disgusting to be this – dirty."

"Cleaning spells can only do so much, eh?"

Draco rolled his eyes in response when he handed his friend a bowl of soup and some crackers.

Harry yawned widely when they'd finished eating. "After-dinner-dip," he gave another huge yawn when the blonde grinned at him. "Why don't you wash up, meanwhile I'll take a nap and after that we can discuss the plans."

"I can't go to the stream in the dark."

"You can wash up over there," Harry pointed at the far end of their camp. "You might wanna use warm water though, you'd freeze to death otherwise."

They'd grown accustomed to the huge temperature drop just after sunset, usually they just curled up in their sleeping bags after dinner to chat and tell eachother stories until they were tired enough to go to sleep.

Draco deliberated for a few seconds if he'd wash up in full sight of his friend, or stay this dirty and smelly. When Harry curled up in his sleeping bag, apparently drifting off to sleep already, he quickly made up his mind. He stalked off, spelling the water warm and shrugged off his clothes, his back turned to his sleeping friend. That's why he didn't notice when Harry's eyes fluttered open and he raised himself onto his elbow.

The dark-haired man had woken up because he wanted to say something to Draco, but the thought left his mind immediately when he caught sight of him. He looked perfect as ever. His pale skin glimmered in the moonlight, even more so with the droplets of water running down his shoulders, arms and back.

Harry felt extremely guilty for staring at his friend like this, but at the same time he couldn't tear his eyes away. He couldn't help it when his eyes wandered even lower, to where his back curved into the gorgeous ass, to his long slender legs where he knew some of the blonde's most sensitive spots were located. Where his ass-cheeks curved into his legs, the inside of his thighs, the backside of his knees.

Harry shivered with excitement when he saw the muscles under the perfect skin move, and more water shimmered over his body. Draco's movements were slow and sure, he was obviously enjoying the ritual. When he'd rinsed out his hair, he shook his head from side to side violently, little droplets of water shooting off in every direction. Harry suppressed a laugh when he saw the boyish movement, and he finally came out of his trance-like state enough to avert his eyes. He rolled to his other side so that he couldn't see the blonde anymore, as not to tempt himself more. He knew that Draco wouldn't like it if he knew that Harry was watching him.

Right?

Harry himself wouldn't like it if ... no, that was not true. Harry _would_ like it if Draco drooled over him like that.

Harry let out a deep sigh when he realized that Draco would never do that. He'd made it so clear that they were _just friends_ every time Harry had mentioned it, or tried to make clear that he was still interested in the blonde for more than plain friendship.


	12. Chapter 12

_Chapter 12_

"Let's try to Apparate to Wolf Island first."

"Okay, let me try," Draco nodded. They were standing on the beach, facing the direction that they knew the tiny island was located.

"Wait. What do you think will happen if it's ... blocked or something?" Harry grabbed his arm.

"I think I won't move at all. Or in the worst case, I'll Apparate just outside the shield that has been cast," Draco said after a minute.

"Oh. Well, I'll keep my broom ready then, to pick you up if you end up in the ocean."

"Sounds like a plan," Draco chuckled lightly and prepared himself.

"Wait," Harry grabbed his arm again. "What if it lets you Apparate? There's something on that island, and we've got no idea what. You can't go there unprepared!"

"I have my wand. And if there's something dangerous, I'll Disapparate right away."

"Shouldn't we go together?"

"No, no. You flew up those cliffs, I'll try to get on the island," Draco shook his head vigorously, then shook off Harry's hand. "Don't worry."

Draco spun on the spot and disappeared. After a few seconds his feet slammed back on the sand next to Harry and he stumbled forwards in the other wizard's arms.

"That felt weird! It's like I was spit back out!" he said in a shaky voice. "Let me try again. Maybe I wasn't determined enough."

Before Harry could protest, the blonde disappeared again. Each time he tried, he smashed back on the beach, looking disorientated.

"Take a break Draco," Harry lead him to a flat rock and handed him a drink. "We'll try together next. Maybe that will work."

Draco grudgingly agreed, but the joint effort only resulted in being thrown back with double force. They landed in a big heap of entangled limbs on the warm sand. Draco let out a frustrated groan and slammed his fist to the ground. His whole body shook, shaking Harry as well. The dark-haired wizard managed to push himself up on one arm and turned his head to look at his friend. Seeing the aggravated face of the blonde, he couldn't help laughing. First Draco shot him an even more annoyed look, but then after some seconds he chuckled. Harry didn't laugh like this very often, but when he did, it was very contagious. A few moments later they were both cracking up laughing until their stomachs hurt and they were gasping for air. When they next tried to detangle themselves from eachother, they cracked up laughing again.

"Ouch! Now get off me!" Draco hiccupped when the other man collapsed on top of him.

"Damn. Then lay still!" Harry shot him a grin and finally managed to get to his feet. "Brooms next?"

As they expected, this wasn't successful either. Every time they got so near to the island that they could almost see through the trees, it was like they slammed into an invisible wall. They spent several hours trying to find a weak spot to the shield, but no matter how high or low they flew, they couldn't get in.

"Tomorrow we're going to find out where the path leads. I bet we'll come across a village sooner or later, and we can start asking around," Draco eyed the small path between the cliffs and the rainforest thoughtfully.

"Tomorrow," Harry agreed. "I'm beat. And incredibly hungry. Go fix me something to eat."

Draco shot him an indignant look, but then he lead his friend back to their camp and examined his ankle and the rest of his recently healed injuries.

"Really, I'm fine. Let me – oh that's good though! You know what? I think I'm not totally healed yet. I think you have to massage my leg. The other one too," Harry shot him a cheeky grin when Draco kneaded his ankle in some strategic places with gentle hands.

"Yeah right. I'm not gonna start giving out massages, because -"

"Because what?" Harry grinned.

"I think it's quite enough that I volunteered to make dinner every evening."

"And you have no idea how grateful I am for that," Harry grabbed his friend and pulled him into a hug. Draco grumbled something unintelligible and started gathering the things to start on dinner.

* * *

"Are you Mr. Longbottom?" Harry asked politely when they found an old man working in the garden of the house they were heading for.

"Alfred," the old man grunted when he straightened up, obviously suffering from rheumatism.

"I'm Ron," Harry extended his hand, helping the man back up the path. "And this is my friend – Vincent." He'd hesitated for a split second, casting around for a name. It had only come to his mind the last second that they had to stop using their real name.

"Are you by any chance related to Frank and Alice Longbottom?" Draco asked carefully. The old man eyed them suspiciously, then hobbled into his house.

"Are you of them lot? 'Cause if you are ... I might be a Squib, but that doesn't mean you'll be able to trespass into my house!"

"Mr. Longbottom, we just wanted to ask you some questions. We would never hurt you or force you to anything. We're – the good kind," Harry said kindly, not moving towards the man. It was obvious that the man was related to Neville, and that he knew they were wizards.

"We're friends with Neville, Frank and Alice's son," Draco put on his most charming smile. Harry didn't dare to look at his friend, he was stretching the truth. True, Harry was a good friend with Neville, but Draco never had been.

"I shared a dorm with Neville at highschool, and he helped me win a task in – a tournament a couple of years ago," Harry went on patiently.

"Neville? Augusta's grandson? She's my sister. How is she? I haven't heard from her for a while," the old man frowned.

"Last time we spoke to Neville, she was great. She's a tough woman. Did you hear that -"

The old man cut Harry off. "Oh come on in then. Let's not discuss this outside, you never know who's eavesdropping."

"Thank you Mr. Longbottom," they both chorused when they stepped inside.

"Alfred," he grumbled, but not in an unkind way. He gestured them to take a seat on the couch. They exchanged a look when he rummaged around in the kitchen to pour them both a drink. They'd been asking around carefully in the village for some days, until they found out that there only was one man who was said to have visited Wolf Island. It had seemed too big a coincidence that he was called Longbottom and they'd sought him out immediately.

Harry first told the old man all he knew about Neville and his grandmother, the news and then their heroic deeds during the Second War and the Battle of Hogwarts. Alfred didn't know all about the fights, but he'd heard enough of it to know that it had been serious. He seemed quite proud to hear that his relatives had played a profound role.

When they thought they'd softened the man up enough, they subtly changed the subject to Wolf Island. In a rush of inspiration Draco told the man they were interested in nature and wildlife, especially where there has never been any human contact. Alfred was quite impressed when they described several magical plants, ironically enough, Harry'd only remembered about the plants because Neville had told him about them. Draco surprised Harry with how much he knew about them, especially plants with healing powers. Alfred kept on saying that it would be perfect if they visited Wolf Island, but that it was not possible. As far as he knew.

But every time he said it, they noticed a flick of fear in his eyes. At the end of the afternoon they'd swapped countless stories with the old man, but they were no further than this morning to discovering how they could reach the island.

"We've got to go now, we want to get back to our camp before sunset," Draco stood up. "Thank you for your valuable advice about the plants," he extended his hand friendly.

"No problem laddie. Too bad the plants can never help me with the rheumatics. It's nice to hear about Augusta and her grandson though," he managed to smile when he'd stretched his sore limbs and shook both their hands.

"We'll see what we can do! Maybe we will find a plant that can help," Draco smiled as they said their goodbyes.

* * *

"Damn. I hate it. That you did that."

"I had to be _cunning_," Draco shrugged his shoulders. "And look where it lead us! No way Alfred would have told us about his boat, let alone told us where we could find it!"

They were currently sitting in Alfred's, obviously enchanted, little boat. It was the only way to reach Wolf Island without crashing on the dangerous cliffs that surrounded the island on all sides, a normal boat wouldn't have been able to.

"Yeah, yeah. But it was cunning enough to put some Veritaserum in the potion for his rheumatics. You really shouldn't have modified his memory afterwards," Harry grumbled, anxiously keeping an eye on the sharp rocks that surrounded them.

"It would have done more harm if he knew that we tricked him. Now he still thinks we're nice guys who brought him medicine against the pain. Believe me, he's better off this way."

Harry shot him another dirty look, then decided that it was no good staying angry at his friend. It had all been done, they couldn't turn back time. And besides, Alfred had told them a lot of useful things about the island. "What do you think is on there?"

"I'm not sure. Some magical creature, that's for sure," Draco said thoughtful. "He said that something _got inside his head_ the moment he set foot on the island, right?"

"It was scary enough for him to never go back," Harry shuddered. "We could try Shield Charms, there's nothing else I can think of."

"Maybe there's more – things protecting the dark object. We need to stick together, no matter what."

"At least it's a small island," Harry tried to smile, but it turned out as a pained grimace.

"Here we go," Draco scrambled up when the boat bumped into solid land. They both jumped out, crouching low on the rocky beach, wands at the ready. Just like Alfred had described, the moment their feet touched the ground, a voice sounded inside their heads. It was a lot of shouting and threatening, words stringing together in no particular order, making it all the more scary. Harry managed to cast a Shield Charm, but it only held for mere minutes. It was enough to throw eachother a terrified look and realize that they were both hearing the same voice. Or was it a voice? It was more like alien thoughts going through their minds, thoughts that weren't their own. Parts of phrases tumbling over eachother, not making sense at all, but at the same time quite clear. They were supposed to leave the island and never come back.

Harry fell down on his knees, his hands clamped over his ears to stop the loud voice. It was like having a particularly lively déjà-vu. He'd had his mind invaded on too many previous occasions, and it had always lead him into dangerous situations. It had lead to deaths of people he cared about.

The moment he realized that, he jumped up.

Draco! Draco was here with him, and he wouldn't let him die!

But Draco was staring in the distance, a blank look on his face. When Harry grabbed his arm, he seemed to come back to his senses and turned towards his friend. "Occlumency. Occlumency works Harry. Try it!"

"I can't!" Harry said through gritted teeth. "I've never been able to!"

The blonde grabbed both Harry's arms and dragged him back to the boat. Harry breathed out relieved when the voice in his head stopped.

"What the hell is that!"

"I don't know."

"You're really good at Occlumency then, aren't you?" Harry looked at his friend astonished.

"Told you so. I can't believe you never believed me!"

They stared at eachother for a few seconds. "I'm gonna get back. I need to find out what's hiding there," Draco said.

"I'm coming with you. Voice or no voice, you're not going there alone."

Draco looked at his friend, but decided it would be a waste of energy to try and convince Harry to let him go by himself. He shrugged and jumped back onto the island.

It turned out to be quite exhausting to keep focusing on Occlumency and explore the surroundings carefully at the same time. After less than ten minutes he felt a major headache coming up, and one look at Harry's ashen face made him decide to turn back to the boat. Just when he turned around, a movement caught his eye. He took Harry's hand and made him look in the same direction.

They both gasped for air when they saw the creature. It was a dragon-like snake. And it was swallowing his own tail. It was shaped in a perfect circle.

"Who are you?" Harry said astonished, without knowing switching to Parseltongue.

"It's no use talking to me in snake language. As you can see, I'm not able to answer. Neither can I hear, or see," the voice resounded in Harry's head. For the first time it made whole sentences, and made sense.

"Sorry. Who are you?" Harry thought the question, rather than say it out loud.

"I'm eternity. I'm immortality. I'm everlastingness."

Thoughts were tumbling over eachother in Harry's mind, his mind was racing.

"You're not making any sense. But you are very brave, coming here. Why did you come here?" the snake-like creature said in Harry's head.

Immediately the warnings in the runes sprang to the wizard's mind. '_He whose greatest desire it is to destroy the means to no end, will die._'

"So you did not come here ... accidentally. You came here to seek for the Means to No End," the creature sounded in a harsh tone.

"Yes."

"You wish to get the knowledge? You want to rise to immortality?"

"No."

"Do not attempt to lie to me. I can see your every thought, if I wish to. I can uncover your deepest desires. I don't even have to look far to see that you wish to destroy everything that can give power to Dark Wizards. Why do you call them Dark? Aren't they full of greatness? Full of talents?"

"We call them Dark because they wish to rule. Over everything. No matter what cost. They wish to conquer death, because it will give them control over everything. There will be nothing left for them to fear if they conquer their last enemy." The look on Harry's face was grim, determined.

"You know ... you might have all the qualities to be great. I see that you have conquered the greatest Dark Wizard of your time."

"Of my time? There have been others? In other times?"

"Of course there have been."

"How old are you?" Harry looked at the scaly skin, the head with the closed eyes. There was no way of determining how old this creature was.

"I have been since the beginning of time. I was never born. A circle has no end and no beginning."

"I do not wish to be immortal. I do not wish to be _great_."

"You think greatness and success are something dirty? Something you should stay away from?"

"Yes."

"So your purpose ... you wish to destroy the way to immortality." It was a statement, not a question.

"No! No, no I do not wish to ..." but Harry wasn't able to finish the thought. He knew that his deepest desire was to destroy whatever this creature was protecting. Every fiber in his body was determined to destroy the dark object that could do so much damage if it fell into the wrong hands. And the creature knew it too.

Draco had been staring at Harry and the snake silently. He didn't dare to open his mind to the creature's voice, because he was sure that's where the voice came from. It had seemed relatively harmless though, up until this moment. Harry's face screwed up in pain, his whole body started to tremble and shake uncontrollably. Draco half dragged, half carried his friend back to the boat, tears streaming down both their faces. Draco couldn't even start to imagine what horrible things were going on inside the dark-haired man's mind, and he couldn't bear the thought of losing Harry.

The blonde couldn't stop thinking about the last line of runes they found in the sea in Spain. '_He whose greatest desire it is to destroy the means to no end, will die._'

He knew that it was Harry's greatest desire to destroy whatever was out here. He just knew it. He shouldn't have allowed Harry to come here with him. Now he was going to die. He just knew it, and at the same time he didn't believe that Harry would die. Not after all he did. Not after he destroyed Voldemort. Because what was here that could be worse, could be more lethal than the Dark Lord? It was impossible!

Draco heaved his friend into the small boat and wrapped his arms around the shaking body. Neither of them noticed when the boat took off and brought them back to the main island, where they'd set up their camp so many weeks ago.

"It's gonna be okay Harry. You're gonna be okay," Draco kept on chanting,

"I'm not. I don't deserve it!" Harry yelled at the top of his voice.

"Of course you don't deserve this agony. You don't deserve to – die."

"No! I don't deserve to be okay! Ever again! I just don't deserve it!" Harry howled. Draco hauled him out of the boat when they hit the sandy beach, carefully laying him on the warm sand. He couldn't be sure if Harry was in physical pain, or if it was all in his head. His face was screwed up in agony, a tortured, haunted look in his green eyes.

"Harry, listen to me. You're a good man. You're better than anyone I know. You defeated the Dark Lord. You saved the wizarding world from all this evil. You saved the whole world from a lot of misery. You deserve all the happiness in the world. I don't know what that damned snake tried to make you believe, but you'd better believe _me_. You're gonna be okay. Everything's gonna be okay."

"Don't. Don't say that. It's not true," Harry said in an agonized voice, but he was calmer already.

"Yes it is. You're a good man," Draco kept on telling Harry until he stopped howling and shaking. The haunted look didn't leave the green eyes though, and Draco eyed him worriedly when they stumbled back to their camp together. They were both exhausted beyond belief, but too tired and shook-up to even think of going to sleep.

"I should have learned Occlumency," Harry mumbled, breaking the silence after a long time.

"You – spoke with the snake?"

"He was talking in my mind," Harry nodded and told Draco all he could remember. He stopped when the agony had started, his body starting to shake all over again. Draco didn't hesitate, but rummaged in his backpack for a few seconds until he found the vial with the potion he was looking for. Without a word he made Harry drink it all, and the dark-haired man sank into a dreamless sleep almost instantly.

* * *

The next few days all passed in the same, slow, dreadful way. Harry didn't do anything by himself, Draco sent him to wash up, told him to eat, told him to go to sleep, told him to come with him for a walk. The blonde kept on talking, talking about anything he could think of. Stories about Hogwarts, about their encounters in Quidditch, about his holidays with his parents. When he was out of stories, he'd switch back to an endless stream of encouragements and summed up everything that Harry had done for the wizarding world and anything that he could do with his life if he wanted. He could learn any job he wanted, he'd get a job anywhere. He could stay in England, or go abroad if he wanted. Anything, just anything he wanted to do.

But Harry didn't react.

The only reaction that Draco got to his neverending talking, was that Harry seemed calm and his eyes were clear. The moment Draco stopped talking, Harry would shudder and tremble, his eyes unfocused, his face twisted in agony. In the evening Draco would give him the potion for a dreamless sleep, but unfortunately it worked only for four or five hours and he was scared of side-effects if he would give his friend a double dose. The remaining hours of the night Draco wrapped himself around the rocking and trembling body as if to physically stop him.

Only twice they'd managed to have a conversation. Draco had pressed that the Death Eaters could be hot on their heels by now, but Harry clearly wasn't in any shape to go back to Wolf Island, and Draco didn't want to leave him behind alone either. Draco had suggested that they'd call for help of their friends, but Harry'd refused to use his DA-galleon to call Hermione and Ron.

Another week passed, and Draco was sure of two things. First; that Harry was slowly going insane. This was how the snake would kill the person who wanted to destroy the Magical Object. Drive him insane until he killed himself. The second thing Draco was sure of, was that he could not, would not let this happen.

During all his babbling, his mind was working at top speed, coming up with all kinds of risky plans to go back to Wolf Island. He had to talk to the snake. Find out what exactly he was protecting. And then find out how he could destroy it.

* * *

"Harry, we need to talk," he said to his friend, who was sitting on the edge of their camp, his back resting to a tree. The lifeless green eyes moved in his direction, so Draco knew he was listening.

"I'm going back to Wolf Island tomorrow."

"No," Harry said in a flat tone.

"Yes. You can either ask Hermione and Ron to come here –"

Harry cut him off. "No! They're not gonna be dragged into this! They deserve a happy and peaceful life. I'm not gonna use my DA galleon!"

"What if I use it?" Draco said calmly. Harry immediately shook his head and his hand shot to his left pocket unconsciously.

"Then I'm gonna take you to Alfred Longbottom. You can stay with him when I ..."

"No. No, Draco. He – the snake's gonna kill you! You can't use Occlumency if you want to find out what it is he's hiding! And once his voice gets in your head -" Harry's voice broke off in a violent shudder that went through his whole body.

"I have to do _something_. I can't just sit here and watch you – watch you like this."

"You can't go to that horrible island alone," Harry said softly, shaking his head slowly as he stared at the floor. "You can't. You can't destroy it. It's not possible."

"What are you suggesting then? Go back home? I can take you to St. Mungo's, and they can –"

"I'm not worth the trouble Draco. You can ... just ... leave me."

Draco had to bend closer to hear the last words, but he wished he hadn't heard them. Harry was in a worse state than he feared. He hadn't just given up hope of destroying the dark object, but he didn't want to go home anymore either. He'd just given up everything!

Draco's heart broke, but at the same time a determination that he'd never felt before in his life came over him. He sprang to his feet and grabbed Harry's upper arms, forcing him to stand up and slammed him with his back to the tree.

Their faces were very close when the blonde snarled, "You are gonna tell me everything again that the snake said to you. In detail. And then I'm going to Wolf Island, whether you want it or not. You can't stop me!"

"Bravo! I don't know how you beat us here, but I'm impressed!" a male voice sounded a short distance behind Draco. Harry's eyes opened wide as the blond spun around, his wand in his hand instantly. He pointed it at the two men who were facing them.

"Don't point that at us, but at him," the second man spoke. "Malfoy, isn't it? Impressed indeed. I thought you and your family switched to the other side when the Dark Lord fell."

"Draco Malfoy," Draco nodded as he stepped a bit closer to the two men, who were obviously Death Eaters. "You are just with two?"

"We initially started out with a lot more, but yes, just two of us now. Well, three if we count you in. How did you get Potter?"

"And how the hell did bloody Potter find out about 'the Means to No End'?" the other man grumbled. "Always the same idiots in our way. I guess it's time to finish him off once and for all."

"No! He's mine!" Draco pulled a threatening face. It was obvious that they thought Draco was on their side, and that he'd been threatening Harry the moment they reached their camp. "I caught him, so he's mine. I get to decide what to do with him."

Draco turned around to look at Harry, shielding him from the Death Eaters' looks. Harry's eyes seemed more alive than they'd been in days.

"Draco? What -"

The blonde silenced him with an almost invisible shake of his head. "Do you trust me?" he said as quietly as possible. He held his breath when he waited for his friend's answer. Did Harry really trust him? Now that his mind was haunted by voices, now that both their lives were at stake?

Harry looked into the grey eyes, then realized that Draco was really waiting for an answer. "Of course," he whispered. He could see the blonde's jaws clench together when he shoved him forcefully to another tree, a bigger one. He thought he felt something in his pocket for a second, but then his back made contact with the trunk and all air was knocked out of him.

"Sit down. And tell me _exactly_ what that snake told you," Draco said in a harsh voice, towering over him.

"Everything?" Harry looked up into the grey eyes. He couldn't want the two Death Eaters to hear it all too, could he?

"Yes," the grey eyes bored into the green ones. "Every single word Potter!"

So Harry told everything once again.

"Are you sure you haven't forgotten to tell anything?"

"I told you everything. Now please leave me alone," Harry sobbed, unable to stop himself. The horrors in his head were too lively, too real. He deserved to die. If only they would leave him alone, so that he could –

"You're such a pussy! Get a grip man! Are you the one who killed the Dark Lord? You, this little sobbing boy?" the Death Eater spat at him.

Harry closed his eyes and shook his head tiredly. He was just so tired. If only they would leave him in peace.

"We'd better go. It will get dark in just a few hours," Draco stood up and turned around at the two other men.

"No! Don't go with them!" Harry suddenly realized that Draco was gonna go with the two Death Eaters.

"Of course I'm going Potter! Who doesn't want to reach immortality? Who would be foolish enough to stay behind?" the grey eyes turned cold, colder than Harry ever remembered seeing them.

"Shouldn't we take him with us?"

"He'd only be in the way," Draco shook his head at the elder man. "Look at him. I'll just tie him up and then we can go." The blonde flicked his wand and ropes tied themselves around Harry and the tree trunk.

"No, no. Not you! Don't go with them!" Harry sobbed, watching the silvery blonde head disappear together with the two Death Eaters.

Draco didn't even look back.

* * *

Harry sat there, bound to the tree by the ropes, but even if he wouldn't have been tied up he wouldn't have had the strength to move. All hope was gone.

His best friend was gone.

A violent shiver ran up his spine when a new thought settled in his brain. Was he really a friend? How could the Death Eaters have turned up at exactly this moment? Was it just a coincidence that Draco arranged the holiday to Spain where they happened to stumble across the ancient runes? How could his best friend look at him with those eyes cold as stone? Was he really his friend, or had it all been set up from the very beginning?

Had Draco used him? He got a private teacher so that he excelled in Potions. Had Draco maybe known that somewhere along the way of following this ancient trail, he'd come across a snake? Had he pretended to be Harry's friend just because he thought he needed someone who spoke Parseltongue?

Harry closed his eyes tightly, tears squeezing from the corners. He couldn't believe it. Draco had told him _everything_. He really was his best friend. Nobody could keep up a charade while being so close to someone. While living with that person. Sleeping with that person. Getting drunk with that person. Draco had really poured his heart out on several occasions. It just wasn't possible that he'd deceived Harry. Was it?

But he was a Slytherin and a Malfoy after all. He was good at Occlumency. He probably could do Legilimency also. He knew where to find information about Dark Magic. His father, the cruel, vile man had helped, told them where to get more information. That couldn't be right. It had all been set up from the beginning by those cursed blondes.

Harry couldn't believe that he'd fallen for it. That he'd almost fallen for Draco, fallen in love with him. Almost. Almost. But not quite. No. Not totally. Not at all. Not completely. Just a little bit. Just ... he hadn't fallen in love with him. No. But he loved him nonetheless. He loved him more than life itself. It wouldn't matter if Harry died right here and now, as long as Draco survived and was okay. That was all that mattered.

He definitely wasn't in love with Draco. Right?

But what if ... Draco had been on the Dark side all along? If he actually achieved his goal? Discovered the way to immortality? Used it? Then it wouldn't be okay if Draco lived. Because he'd ... No. No. No. That could _not_be true. Draco was his best friend. Draco was a good man. He had only been a Death Eater because of his father. His father who had helped them to get here.

For hours on end Harry's mind reeled. One moment he was convinced that Draco had been on the Dark side all along, the next moment he was sure that he was his best friend and loyal. That he was finding a way to get rid of the Death Eaters and destroy the magical object that would lead to immortality. But even when he thought that, he knew deep down inside that it was not possible to destroy it. Because whoever stepped up to destroy it, would do that only if it was their greatest desire. And that was exactly what the snake would play at ... he'd drive that person insane. Just as Harry was going insane at this moment. Harry knew it was happening, but he just couldn't stop it. He was fighting it, but it was a lost battle.

Long after it had gotten dark, he sank into unconsciousness out of mental and physical exhaustion. He smiled and welcomed the darkness that engulfed him.


	13. Chapter 13

_Chapter 13_

"Harry! Harry! Can you hear me? Wake up!"

Harry cursed in his head. He'd welcomed death, but if being dead meant having a major headache, his whole body hurting like a bitch, and someone yelling in his ear, he wouldn't have wanted to die after all. Being alive at least meant that you could shut the yelling person up. Wait, maybe he could ...

He managed to groan, then moaned softly when his throat burned. He tried to swallow, but found out he couldn't, his mouth was too dry.

"Harry! It's all gonna be okay. Don't worry." He felt someone hold his head and then something cool on his chapped lips.

This all felt suspiciously like being alive!

The moment he realized that he might not have died after all, the voice in his head started again. He deserved to die. He'd gone to Wolf Island with the intention of destroying whatever the snake was protecting, so now he deserved to die. But if he wanted to die, he would have to stop the person who was forcing water down his throat!

With all his force he managed to open his eyes a little bit, but regretted it immediately as a blinding pain went through his head at the brightness of his surroundings.

"Ron! Get over here! He's waking up!"

Wait a second? Ron? Ron was here? Then the one holding him and sobbing hysterically could be only one person – Hermione!

Did this mean it all ended? That Draco was okay?

"Dra-co?" he croaked, his eyes watering with the sharp pains that shot through his limbs when he tried to sit up.

"Sssht. Lay still Harry. It's gonna be okay. We'll get you some water, then something for the pain and some food. Don't worry, we're taking care of you," Hermione said in a soothing voice.

"Draco!" he said in a slightly stronger voice.

"Hey mate! Man you look terrible! You should have let us know earlier where you were!" Ron appeared on Hermione's side. "But don't worry, we're gonna patch you up in no time. I brought a whole bunch of potions."

Hermione made him drink some more water silently. The voice in Harry's head swelled back to a deafening level.

"Where's Draco?" Harry screwed up his eyes, focusing hard on his friends.

"I don't know. We thought he would be here with you," Hermione said softly.

"Don't worry. We'll find him," Ron said calmly when Harry scrambled up. They watched him silently, worry evident in their eyes. He swayed on his legs, screwing his eyes up in agony when the voice leveled up again.

"Keep talking to me," he groaned, holding on to Ron for support.

"What!"

"Voice – in my head. Talk to me. Don't – don't stop."

Ron and Hermione shared a confused, scared look, but then Ron started rambling about how the decorating of their house went along. When Harry shot him a grateful look, Hermione joined in.

With their help, Harry stumbled to the stream, sinking in it without a word. He didn't even bother to take off his clothes. The water seemed to wash away not only the dirt, but also the slowness of his brain.

"Let's get you some dry clothes," Hermione steered him back to the camp.

"And some potions. You're still looking like a ghost," Ron nodded his head solemnly.

"Cheers mate," Harry grimaced, ignoring the pounding headache. He obediently swallowed the various potions, but only after they told him what they were for.

"Here's the last one for now. A calming draught."

"No. I'm not going to sleep," Harry shook his head, feeling much better already. Or, at least his body was feeling better. His mind was still the same wreckage as it had been before Draco disappeared. Or maybe even a little bit worse, _because_ Draco had disappeared.

"You need to rest first Harry."

"No! I've been asleep for God knows how long."

"You were unconscious! You weren't asleep!"

"I'm not taking it," Harry shook his head violently. His friends eyed him silently.

"What did I tell you? Keep on talking!" Harry grunted as he heard the voice in his head louden instantly.

"I think it's time you start talking Harry. Tell us exactly what happened, and then we can go looking for Draco."

Harry's shoulders drooped as he sat down, burying his face in his hands. In a low, flat voice he told them everything from the moment they found the ancient runes in the sea in Spain. His voice cracked when he reached the part about Wolf Island, when the torture inside his head had started.

"Keep on talking Harry. We have to know everything," Hermione urged him in a friendly, but insisting voice. Harry clawed his fingernails deeper into his skin and managed to continue, telling about how the Death Eaters found them and how Draco took off with them. How he tied Harry up to the tree and left _together_ with the Death Eaters.

"I've always thought Malfoy was an asshole," Ron sighed. Hermione shot him a deadly look, but he shook his head and continued. "But I don't think he betrayed you Harry. It was the only way of staying alive. You were in no shape of fighting the Death Eaters, and Malfoy may be excellent at dueling, but he couldn't take on two men. He probably tried to buy some time, to have a chance to figure out how to get rid of them."

Harry looked up at his friend astonished. "You think so?"

"Yes. And besides, the Ouroboros can be –"

"The _what_?" Hermione and Harry chorused.

"The Ouroboros. The immortal snake. Wait, you've never ... right, I forgot that you didn't grow up with the wizard fairytales. It's a kids' story. The snake that swallows his own tail. The story forgot to mention the fact that it gets in your head and drives you insane though." The moment Ron said the last word, he regretted it. Harry's face was buried in his hands again.

"Did you say that Alfred saw the ... Ouroboros too? And he's quite sane, isn't he?" Hermione said thoughtful.

"Maybe that's because he's not a wizard," Harry said. "Or he wasn't on the island long enough to really let him into his head."

"Or he found an antidote. He seems to know a lot about plants."

"We have to find out what happened to Draco first," Harry shook his head.

"But we need the boat to get to the island," Ron replied instantly.

"Harry, you're in no state to go to Wolf Island," Hermione tried to reason.

"I don't care. Draco's most important," Harry jumped up and followed the path from the camp to the beach. "How did you manage to find me anyway?"

"The DA galleon of course," Ron said surprised. "You asked us to come."

"I didn't," Harry shook his head. "I -" he stopped. He had refused to call on his friends, not wanting to endanger them, not wanting to disrupt their happiness.

"The message was not very – coherent though, that's why it took us more than a day to find you," Hermione said hesitantly, apologetically.

"Maybe you were, I don't know, hallucinating or something before you passed out. That's why you don't remember calling us," Ron shrugged.

"When exactly did you get the message?" Harry asked. It would give an indication of how long ago Draco had disappeared.

"Exactly ... forty-six hours ago," Hermione panted, jogging to keep up.

"The boat!" Harry exclaimed, coming to a halt abruptly so that Ron ran into him. They both staggered, but managed to keep their footing. "Draco!" Harry yelled, looking around frantically.

"Sssht. It could also be the Death Eaters that came back," Hermione clasped her hand over Harry's mouth. "We should be careful."

"I don't give a fuck. I have to find Draco," Harry struggled to free himself. Hermione looked at the redhead for help, but he merely shrugged his shoulders. Harry set off at top speed, looking everywhere for the silvery blonde head. His friends followed him alertly, wands at the ready.

An hour later Harry's shouting for Draco had diminished to sobbing. They'd searched the outline of the coast, the base of the cliffs and the edge of the rainforest. There was no evidence that anybody had gotten out of the boat. No traces at all.

* * *

"Maybe they're all dead. That's why the boat came back." Harry's voice was hollow, it raised the hairs on his friends' arms. They'd been going over all the options for hours. They'd barely prevented him from jumping into the boat and setting off towards Wolf Island. They knew he wouldn't survive it. Harry in turn refused to let his friends get into the boat. He knew that they would go insane too, they'd never learned Occlumency.

"What if we go home, get you sorted out in St. Mungo's, round up the Aurors and get back here?"

Harry looked up at his friend's suggestion. "I can't be _sorted out_. And I'm not leaving this island."

"What if one of us goes back home to round up the Aurors? Or what if we ask some other DA members to send the Aurors here?" Hermione suggested in turn.

"I don't know where my galleon is. And besides, what use is it if the entire Auror squad goes insane?"

"Harry!" she called out frustrated. "You can't veto on every idea! It's not like you to be so – pessimistic! Work with us!"

"It's not like me to hear voices in my head either," he grimaced. "Or wait, it is. I had that too with the Basilisk."

"That wasn't in your head mate. It was in the walls and you were just the only one to understand a bunch of hissing noises," Ron shook his head. "Okay, what about this. We all get in the boat, go to Wolf Island, and circle around it to see if we see anything. We won't set foot on the island."

"Since when did you get so practical?" Harry's head snapped up. This wasn't the first time Ron said something extremely useful.

"I grew up mate. Get used to it."

Hermione smiled at her boyfriend proudly. "Good idea Ron! Let's do that first thing tomorrow. It's gonna get dark very soon."

"Tomorrow?" Harry all but yelled. "It's been two days and nights already! We're not gonna wait another night!" He jogged up the path to the beach for the second time today. As long as he kept moving and talking, the voice in his head was just in the background, just annoying white sound. Only it was blacker than black instead of white.

"No!" Ron stopped short.

"No!" Harry wailed when his eyes searched the coastline. The boat was gone! He let out a violent string of curses and sagged down onto the warm sand. The remaining parts of his heart shattered into a million pieces. All hope was gone now.

He didn't listen to his friends' words anymore, he let the voice in his head take over. He welcomed the cursing and the degrading words. The snake was right. He was worthless. He only deserved to die. He refused to move back to the camp when the darkness of the night fell over them. He refused to eat or drink. He refused to open his eyes when they shook his shoulders and lifted up his head, trying to turn him in the direction of Wolf Island. He refused to believe the shouted words of his friends that filtered through his stupor, the words that said there was something burning on Wolf Island. He shook his head and kept his face buried in his hands, pressing himself hard into the sand.

* * *

"The voice!" Harry jumped up startled, startling his friends in turn.

"What? What's up Harry?"

"It's gone!"

"Maybe it wears off after a few days?"

"No! It was getting worse and worse. And now suddenly – the Ouroboros is dead! That's the only explanation!" Harry exclaimed. "It's dead! It must be!"

"Calm down Harry. It's great that the voice is gone, but it doesn't necessarily mean that the snake died," Hermione tried to calm him down.

"You don't know what you're talking about! It's dead! I'm sure!"

"What do we do now?" Ron said enthusiastically, caught by Harry's sudden uplift.

"We wait and see who returns from the island," Hermione pointed her wand at the sea, squeezing her eyes to make out anything in the faint light of the stars.

The bright fire that they'd seen on the tiny island, seemed to diminish already. Only minutes later it was gone totally.

"How long does it take to get to the island by boat?"

"About twenty minutes," Harry answered her.

"It's been forty minutes already!"

"Damn," Harry started pacing, his eyes never leaving the ocean. He stopped short when Ron stepped up to the edge of the water, his eyes focused on something.

"Do you see anything?"

"Wait a minute."

Harry felt like he was holding his breath for minutes on end, his head swimming with expectation, nerves and anxiety. He was still feeling weird, the snake's voice faintly echoing that he didn't deserve to live, that he endangered and destroyed the lives of everybody that he loved.

"Careful you two," Hermione pulled on their arms until they crouched on the sand, still staring into the ocean.

"It's the boat. I can't see ... yes ... there's someone in it," Ron whispered.

"Is it Draco?" Harry said urgently, trying his best to keep his voice down.

"I can see something light ... what did the two Death Eaters look like?" Ron tore his eyes away from the boat to look at his friend.

"One brown hair, the other one black."

"Then it's Draco. I can definitely see blonde hair!"

"I can see it now too!" Harry jumped up, his heart threatening to jump out of his chest.

"Harry, wait. Are you sure that Draco's still on our side?" Hermione said softly, scared.

Harry stared at her. "Pretty sure, yes. And if he's not ... well then I don't care if he kills me." The moment he said it, he knew it was true. If Draco had deceived him all along, he didn't want to live on. He turned away from them and waded into the ocean.

"Draco! Draco, are you okay?" he yelled at the top of his voice.

"Harry?" a faint voice answered.

"Yes, yes it's me! Are you okay? Did you kill the Ouroboros?"

"I killed the snake."

"I knew it! The voice in my head is gone!" Harry cried with happiness when he finally reached the small boat, but then he gasped. Draco was covered in something.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I don't think so," Draco answered weakly when Harry dragged the boat to the beach faster. He pulled Draco into his arms and lifted him out of the boat to the beach where they collapsed together.

"You really did trust me," Draco looked up in the concerned green eyes.

"Kind of," Harry answered, pulling him into a tight hug.

"You got my message!" the blonde said when he discovered Hermione and Ron hovering above them.

"You sent it!"

"Didn't you notice when I took the galleon from your pocket? Just before I tied you up? Sorry about that by the way," Draco turned his grey eyes back to the man that was holding him in his arms.

"How is it possible that you're not dead?" Harry demanded to know. A tired smile crept up the blonde's face.

"Are you okay Draco? Let me examine you," Hermione lit her wand and shone over the slender body in Harry's arms. Everybody shuddered when they saw that he was covered in blood. Red and black stains were on his clothes and arms, even on his face.

"You got to wash that off in the water. It's – I can't -" Hermione tried several spells, but the blood didn't vanish. Harry helped his friend to his feet and Ron and Hermione pointedly looked the other way as he stripped off his clothes. The dark-haired man wrapped his arm tightly around the pale waist when they waded into the water. When they returned all clean, Hermione healed the minor cuts and burns that she found on him.

"Is that all?"

Draco let out a shaky laugh. "Yes. No deadly wounds. I'm just deadly tired, that's all." He swayed on his legs as if to emphasize his words.

"Let's get back to the camp, you both can put on some clean clothes and then you're gonna tell us everything," Hermione said with a stern face. The three men didn't dare to object.

* * *

"I don't know where to start."

"Just start after you left Harry," Ron nodded when they huddled around their small fire after they'd had a late dinner. "He told us all that happened up until the Death Eaters."

Draco's eyes shot to Harry, who was sitting right next to him. "Okay, but I'm gonna tell the short version now. I haven't slept for two nights."

"That's more than fine. Harry needs his sleep too. He's been unconscious up until a few hours ago," Hermione shot the two exhausted men worried looks.

Draco started off in an apologetic voice, explaining how he thought that their chances would be best if he pretended to still be a Death Eater. The moment they'd set foot on Wolf Island, he'd used Occlumency to protect himself from the snake's voice. He'd kept a close eye on the Death Eaters and when they'd started conversing with the snake like Harry had done, he'd let his shield down and listened in. The two men's brains had been explored for hours by the magical creature, and he'd decided they didn't have the qualities that they needed to become immortal.

"_He who dreams of being great, will fail and lose everything,"_ Draco quoted the runes. "So they failed and lost. They went crazy and within the hour they both walked into the ocean and drowned themselves."

"They lost their marbles," Ron muttered.

"Yes. Literally lost everything. Then the snake turned to me. It questioned me. I was able to shield part of my mind with Occlumency for a day, but then I couldn't keep it up anymore. It was horrible to have my whole mind opened up to someone else," Draco shuddered violently and Harry unconsciously wrapped his arm around the blonde's shoulder. "And it was even more terrifying when it found me worthy. It said I possessed all the qualities to be great. I – I used it to my advantage and questioned it to find out where the Dark Object was hidden. It turned out we'd been mistaken all along. There is no object or anything. The snake itself had the secret to immortality. Firstly it started telling me about being immortal, then what my life would look like if I reached immortality. When I – when I didn't find the prospect of that appealing at all, it investigated my mind further. It was horrific to have it digging through my life, but it also brought back memories that I'd forgotten. I remembered an old story about a snake eating his own tail. An immortal snake. I remembered how it was killed in the story, but the story hadn't been very detailed about it, because it was a childrens' story. Then the creature realized that I'd come there to destroy it. It turned more insistent, telling all great things that I could reach when I was immortal. When it began on the procedure, the first step of the Means to No End, I started searching for a weapon. Since I'm no Gryffindor, so no sword of Gryffindor magically appearing on my side," Draco took a small pause to smile at Harry, who returned the smile instantly, "I had to make my own weapons. Luckily I always carry my silver knife that I use for Potions. I cut off branches and turned them into spears. It was impossible to stop the voice in my head, and it kept on going through the different steps and processes to immortality, so I knew my time was limited. I called the boat back, so that I would be able to make a quick escape if necessary. I had sent it away earlier to prevent the Death Eaters from getting away. When I pinned the snake to the ground with a spear through its heart, the voice faltered."

"It died? Just like that?" Ron said awed. "The story said it was stabbed seven times!"

"It didn't die. But it stopped telling me the seven steps. I also remembered the number seven from the story, so I tried to figure out where to stab it exactly. Ironic, don't you think? The way to reach immortality consisted of seven steps, and the way to kill it was also divided into seven. Instead of proceeding to the next step, it changed to death threats now. I wasn't sure if it could really kill me, but I knew I had to finish this. I could think of three places to spear. The heart, the brains and the reproductive organs. When I examined the snake closely, I eventually found out that if I divided the body into six equal parts, I got those three targets. The seventh target should be the wings."

"Wings?" Hermione squeaked.

"Yes. It had two small wings, like a dragon. It roared and slithered and wriggled when I pierced the targets one by one, clockwise. When I planted the seventh spear into the brain, the voice stopped completely. I was free to go back to the boat. I knew it was dead, but ... I didn't know if it would stay dead. It didn't feel right, because in the story -"

"It ended with a roaring fire," Ron cut him off.

"Yes. So I tried to set the body on fire. It didn't work, the fire died the moment it hit the body each and every time. I could only think of one fire that could finish it off for good." Draco's voice broke and his whole body trembled at the memory.

"No," Harry shook his head in horror. "Not -"

"Fiendfyre," Hermione said in an awed voice.

"Yes," Draco said in an uncharacteristically high voice. "Fiendfyre. I made sure I was next to the boat before I started it, and I watched it burn from a safe distance, floating around the island."

"And now the Ouroboros is dead. The way to immortality is destroyed forever," Hermione let her breath escape and smiled at Draco, who nodded weakly.

Ron pointed at himself and his girlfriend. "We saw the fire. But Harry was still ..."

"The voice in my head stopped _after_ we saw the fire. You were right, it wasn't dead before," Harry said in a shaky voice. "Thank you. You saved my life. I know how terrible it must have been to witness Fiendfyre again, but I'm glad you did it."

Draco's body trembled at the memory and they all thought back of the Fiendfyre in the Room of Requirement during the Battle of Hogwarts where they'd almost died and where one of Draco's best friends had lost his life.

Harry broke the silence after several minutes. "But -" he stopped.

"What?" Draco looked at his friend who still had his arm wrapped around him.  
"The runes. They were an empty threat, because you didn't die? _He whose greatest desire it is to destroy the means to no end, will die_. Then how come I was losing my mind? I would have ..."

"Greatest desire," Draco said softly. "I wanted to destroy it, but it wasn't my _greatest_ desire."

"No? What could have possible been bigger? What could you have wanted more than anything in the world?" Hermione said with big eyes. It was obvious that Draco was on their side a hundred percent, so how could it not be his greatest desire to destroy the manual to immortality? He'd even had the chance to reach it himself and turned it down!

"Harry." Draco's voice was barely a whisper, and he kept on staring into the fire steadily.

Harry didn't seem to grasp what the blonde said, and Hermione simply didn't catch the answer over the crackling fire, but Ron jumped to his feet abruptly.

"Hermione, I think we ... uhm ... have to make sure there aren't any other Death Eaters around before we go to sleep."

She shot him a confused look, but got to her feet when he stared at her pointedly.

"Don't worry mate. Tell him everything and I'm pretty sure you'll be pleasantly surprised at his reaction."

Draco looked up amazed when he realized that Ron had been talking to him. He'd called Draco _mate_! "Uhm. Yeah, thanks," he managed to throw the redhead a tentative smile.

Harry seemed unaware of what was happening and when the couple had taken off with their wands drawn, he turned his head back to the blonde. "You didn't answer Hermione's question. What could you have wanted more?"

"I did answer. It was you. Is you."

"What? What's me?"

Draco swallowed hard. "My greatest desire is you." His voice was husky with nerves and his grey eyes darted everywhere but at the emerald green eyes boring into him.

"Me? You – want me?" Harry's body froze when the message finally sank in. "Draco?"

They realized at the same moment that they were still sitting together, with Harry's arm wrapped tightly around the blonde's shoulders. Instinctively they scooted away from eachother as if burned, but then Harry reached out and took his friend's hand gently. Draco took a deep breath and in slow motion his grey eyes locked with the emerald ones.

"Yes. My greatest – desire is to let you know how I feel about you. That I want you, not just as a friend, not even as my best friend, but I want you as my ... everything. I want to be _your_ everything. I want to be your family, your friend, the one who takes care of you when you're sick, the one you can yell at when you're angry, the one you will come to when you're sad, the one who will wake you up when you're having a bad dream, the one who will defend you if someone speaks ill of you, the one who holds your hand if you have to appear in public, the one – to grow old with."

"Damned, I need witnesses! I don't think you'll ever say this again!" Harry mocked him, a smile dancing at the corners of his lips.

"I'm serious Harry. I know I'm being the biggest pussy in the world and I'm never gonna repeat these words in front of anyone else, but I mean it."

"In short ... you wanna be my boyfriend."

"I love you Harry. Even if –" Draco swallowed hard, but their eyes kept locked, "Even if you turn me down."

"Of course I wanna be your lover _and_ your friend. Haven't I made that clear all along?" Harry smiled tenderly, raising his hand to cup the blushing cheek.

"I thought you only wanted sex," Draco said softly, the blush deepening.

"Oh I do want sex! Damn you're too sexy for your own good! But I want the real thing. No drunken actions, no running away afterwards. I want to spend the whole night with you, fall asleep in your arms and then make love again in the morning."

"You do realize we're in a make-shift camp on an island, and your friends are walking around somewhere near?" Draco chuckled, his eyes shining.

"I didn't say I want it right now. Well, I do. But ... urgh! Shut up and -"

Draco cut him off by putting a chaste kiss on his lips.

"Yeah, exactly. Kiss me," Harry mumbled, his fingers still caressing the blonde's cheek, his other hand settling on his waist.

"My pleasure," Draco whispered back. Their mouths blended together as Draco pulled him closer, one hand weaving in the dark hair. The blonde moaned disappointed when Harry pulled back and opened his mouth to speak.

"Shut up Draco," Harry grinned when he saw the expression on his friend's face. "I was gonna say something good."

"Say it then and let me get back to kissing you," Draco pouted.

"You look cute like that. No, no, that's not what I wanted to say," Harry kissed the tip of Draco's nose smiling. "I love you too."

"Well, _that_ you may say more often," Draco seemed to melt in Harry's arms as they kissed eachother once again. A soft moan could be heard when the kiss deepened and they lay down on the floor, bodies entangled. When the need for air broke them apart, Harry rolled on top of his boyfriend.

"I love you I love you I love you," he chanted, with each word putting a kiss on the pale face. He kissed the eyes with the fluttering eyelashes, the cheeks that were tinged with pink, the corners of the smiling mouth, the sharp line of his jaw, the forehead covered in the silky, silvery blond hair.

"I love you too," Draco cupped his boyfriend's cheeks and pulled him in for a passionate kiss.

"As much as I wanna do this – and a whole lot of other things to you," Harry pulled back after a while, "you haven't slept for two nights. You need to rest."

"So do you. You've been pretty ... ill. And no, being unconscious doesn't count as sleeping," Draco smiled when he knew exactly what Harry would use as objection.

"Okay, you might be right. Just a little bit," he admitted grudgingly.

"Who said anything about being cute?" Draco grinned, pulling him up into a sitting position and kissing him briefly. Harry scowled, only making the blonde grin worse before he turned away and searched the outline of the trees surrounding them.

"Ron? Hermione?"

"Is it safe to look?" Ron appeared a few moments later, shielding his eyes with his hand.

"Prat!" Draco laughed.

"Care to tell us what happened?" Hermione appeared behind her boyfriend, elbowing him in the ribs.

"This happened," Harry grinned widely and kissed Draco enthusiastically.

"Oh man! Go get a room!" Ron groaned.

"You got a problem with it?" Harry jumped up, pulling a threatening face.

"Yes of course. Just as much as you have a problem with it when I kiss Hermione in front of you," his friend returned the glare before they both burst out laughing.

"Told you so," Ron thumped Draco on the back laughing. "Welcome to the family!"

"Family?"

"Yeah, my parents as good as adopted Harry," Ron sniggered, "they'll take on a new son-in-law too."

"I'm so happy for you," Hermione smiled and hugged Harry tightly. She secretly wiped away a stray tear when she turned to Draco and hugged him too. "For both of you. If anybody deserves happiness after they've saved the world twice, it's you two."

"Yeah, yeah. We'll have to save the _happiness_ for later. Can we get some sleep first?" Harry looked at Draco's face which was even paler than usual.

"Of course. I'll set up some wards. Yeah, you two need to sleep. The Portkey is a couple of hours away from here," Hermione was already walking around the edge of the camp, waving her wand.

"Here. Dreamless sleep," Ron handed the new couple two small vials.

"I don't want -"

"Nonsense. Tonight you're gonna sleep," Ron cut the protests off. "So it should better be a good sleep. Whether you take the potion when you're back home tomorrow I don't care. I don't wanna know how you two gonna spend your nights, but this night you're gonna _sleep quietly_."

"Poor Ron. Always scared of seeing or hearing something ... erm ... something he doesn't wanna know about," Harry sniggered and flicked his wand to enlarge his sleeping bag, gesturing Draco to get in.

"Put out the fire and you won't see anything," Draco smirked at Ron as he stripped down to his boxers before he slid into the inviting sleeping bag.

"Won't see anything? You glow in the dark!" Ron retorted.

"Hermione?" Harry grunted when the bickering went on.

"Yes Harry?" she answered in a sickly sweet voice.

"Will you make him shut up please?"

"If you shut up yours."

"No problem," Harry undressed and slid next to his boyfriend, wrapping his arms around him tightly. Draco snuggled up to him, burying his face in the other man's neck.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley! Get your ass over here and shut up!" Hermione said in a stern voice. They heard some grumbling and shuffling noises before silence settled over them.

"I like your way of silencing better," Draco whispered, but loud enough to carry to where the other couple lay.

"Shut up Malfoy," Hermione scowled.

"And take your potion. Both of you!" Ron grunted.

"Aye aye captain," Harry saluted, then kissed his boyfriend deeply before they both downed the contents of their vials.


	14. Chapter 14

_Chapter 14_

"So, we'll see you around six at the Ministry, okay? We'll go there right now and try to convince them to get Mr. Malfoy out of Azkaban to get a new trial," Hermione said when they parted ways in front of Grimmauld Place nr. 12.

"We can -" Draco started, but Ron cut him off.

"You need to rest and ... well take a shower and put on some clean clothes first. And you need to prepare yourself for what you're gonna tell them."

"He is right," Harry said softly, putting his hand in the small of Draco's back. The blonde shrugged and turned to enter the house without a word.

"See you later. And thanks. For everything," Harry smiled and hugged his two best friends goodbye.

"Any time. Go now," Hermione pushed him inside, closing the door behind him.

"Draco?"

The blonde turned around, already standing with one foot on the stairs. He turned around and quirked one eyebrow. "I'm gonna take a shower and make myself presentable."

"No you're not," Harry shook his head.

"We've been living in a bloody _camp_ for a month, I don't think I've ever looked this – this – scruffy!"

"You look perfect to me," Harry advanced on him, dropping his backpack on the floor. "And you're not going anywhere."

"And why not?"

"Because first I'm gonna kiss you senseless," Harry wrapped his arms around the blonde and pulled him close in one swift movement. Draco's breath escaped in a small 'huff' as he found himself pinned to the wall. Before he could answer, Harry pressed their lips together in a hungry kiss. Draco opened his mouth as he felt his boyfriend lick his lips tentatively. Their tongues battled fiercely and their bodies wrapped themselves around eachother tightly. The urgency of the kiss subsided and Draco eventually backed away a bit to look into the green eyes.

"I know you've been wanting to do that all morning. You got it out of your system now? Then you can let me go."

"You're not gonna get out of my system for the next hundred years. I love you," Harry pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "But I will let you go now. Unless you wanna take a shower together?"

Draco stroked the other man's cheek with the back of his hand. "Let's save that for another time."

Harry stared after him when the blonde turned away and walked up the stairs. He expected their homecoming to be completely different. He shook his head confused as he collected his luggage and went to his own room.

That's how Draco found him an hour later. Confused.

"Can I help?" he leaned to the doorpost, examining the mess in Harry's bedroom. Clothes were scattered everywhere, as were his toiletries. Harry was sitting on the floor in the middle, and slowly turned his head to look at the blonde. "I'm crap at this kind of stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Draco walked up to him and sank down to the floor elegantly.

"This. Everything," Harry stared at the floor miserably.

"Me too Harry. Me too."

Harry looked up at the soft confession. "I know there's a lot to process, but I thought we'd do it together. And now it feels like you're pushing me away."

"I'm – not. Last night ... well, I hadn't slept for two nights and I just ... couldn't stop -"

Harry cut him off, a serious look on his face. "I know. And I know you're not likely to repeat that passionate confession of your undying love for me. And that's okay. You don't have to say it again, you don't even have to tell me that you love me when I tell you that I love you. Just ... just don't shut me out, okay?"

"I promise I'll try. It's just so damn hard. I've done everything on my own for so long."

"I know what it's like. I've also shut out everybody for a long time. But we're together now, and – just let me know what you want me to do. Let me know when you want to talk, let me know when you want me to leave it. I can't read your mind, and I want this, us, to work. I can't live without you, so -"

"So I'd better find a way to live _with_ you?" Draco smiled softly.

"Yes. Something like that."

"I don't have to. I already know how to live with you. All I have to do now if find a way of showing you that I care about you."  
"You could start by helping me with this," Harry gestured around and they both chuckled.

"Kreacher can sort out this mess. I'll sort out _this_ mess," Draco stood up and pulled Harry up into his arms. He combed his hands through the messy hair, then linked their fingers, bringing them up to his eyes.

"I'll always look like a mess compared to you," Harry smirked when he saw the disapproving look on his face.

"I'll try to reduce it as best as I can. Come," Draco pulled him to the bathroom.

When they re-emerged, Harry's hair was cut and smoother than it had ever been, thanks to Draco's conditioner, and his nails even looked acceptable, thanks to Draco's manicure.

"Now that I've been patched up as far as possible, it's time you -" Harry stopped when Draco groaned. Harry smiled and shook his head. "We've got a few hours before we have to leave, so you'd better try to relax and get some rest. You're incredibly tense and it's gonna be a tough night."

"I knew you were gonna say that. But there's not enough time to have a sleeping potion, so how the hell am I supposed to relax?" Draco grumbled. Harry put a soft kiss on his cheek and lead the way to the blonde's bedroom. "Take off your shirt and lie down," he pointed at Draco's bed. He burst out laughing when the blonde looked at him incredulously. "No, no. I know that that's not the way to seduce you. And that's not what I had in mind either. I was just planning on giving you a massage to help you relax a little."

"Oh!" Draco grinned sheepishly and laid down on his stomach, stripped to his boxers.

At first he only tensed up further when Harry climbed on top of him and let his strong hands move over his shoulders and back. But after a while the kneading and rubbing motions had their effect and his muscles relaxed bit by bit.

"That better?"

"That's better," Draco sighed contently, closing his eyes. When Harry made a movement to leave, Draco's pale fingers closed around his wrist.

"You want me to stay? But the bed's so small!"

"Then maybe we should move to the master bedroom for the nights," Draco whispered when Harry mould his body around him to fit into the single bed.

"I think that's a good idea," Harry pressed a kiss to his shoulder. They lay still for a while, but eventually Harry couldn't take it anymore and slowly lifted his hand to stroke the crease out of Draco's forehead.

"You look so troubled. You're not gonna sleep, are you?"

"I'm gonna ask them to give me Veritaserum. I will give my testimony and answer all of their questions tonight, that way we'll be done with it at once. I don't want days and days of interrogations and discussions about me and my father's questionable loyalty to the Ministry," Draco said softly, his eyes still closed.

"Are you sure? That way you'll tell them ... everything."

"Everything they ask about. Yes. I have nothing to hide anymore."

They both remained silent as Harry thought over the consequences when the Ministry and Wizengamot would find out that the only reason that Draco survived the Ouroboros, was that his love for Harry was bigger than his fear of dying. Harry decided he didn't care what they thought about it. He didn't care if the whole world knew that he was gay and Draco was his boyfriend.

"I think it's a good idea. It's bad enough to relive it all once, it would be terrible to have to talk about it over and over again," he said eventually.

"Harry? Will you stay with me when they interrogate me?"

"If they let me."

Green eyes locked with grey eyes and as hypnotized they inched closer until their lips locked.

"I think we're the ones to set the conditions," Draco mumbled when he let his lips skim over Harry's jaw. He breathed in deeply when he kissed the tender skin just below his boyfriend's ear, smelling the mixture of Harry's musky scent and shampoo. Harry's breath hitched and the blonde kissed the tender spot once again, his arms moving to pull him closer. Draco involuntarily let out a soft whimper when Harry wrapped his legs around him, causing delightful friction to his groin. When he felt himself get hard, he moved to get out of bed, but Harry stopped him.

"It's okay," he whispered, kissing the blonde on the lips while his he rubbed himself to Draco's thigh, letting him feel his erection straining in his jeans.

"I'm not in the ... mhmmm." Draco wasn't able to finish his sentence when Harry kissed him and mumbled to his lips, "You don't have to do anything. Just allow yourself to relax for a few minutes."

Harry moved his leg once again and the blonde surrendered as electric jolts surged through his body, originating in his groin. Harry placed butterfly kissed on the pale skin when he slid his boxers down and wrapped his hand around Draco's full erection.

"Just relax," Harry mumbled to the skin on Draco's exposed throat as his back arched off the bed.

"Damn Harry! How – can I _relax_ – when you – you're ... oh! Yesss that's good!"

Draco continued to whimper when Harry pumped his hand up and down the slick shaft, his speech becoming more incoherent as a thin layer of sweat appeared all over his body and his head bent backwards into the pillow. Harry watched his hand get covered in cum when Draco's body tensed up one last time, his muscles convulsing.

"Shit," Draco mumbled, his arm covering his flushed face. The dark-haired man gently pried the arm away and smiled surprised when he saw the embarrassed look on Draco's face.

"Why are you looking like that?"

"Because ... well we're _boyfriends_ now. It's supposed to be all romantic, and foreplay and kissing and nuzzling and – this is just embarrassing," Draco refused to look into the twinkling green eyes.

"It's not supposed to be anything. And you think it's embarrassing to enjoy a handjob? I think it's more embarrassing to come in your pants, just because you're rubbing against your boyfriend's leg."

The grey eyes immediately shot downwards, rested on the wet spot on the other man's groin, then eventually met the twinkling green eyes.

"You're not embarrassed at all."

"I didn't say I'm embarrassed. I said it's more embarrassing to – you heard me. I'm not gonna repeat it, it will only make me feel more like some lusty teenager," Harry retorted, but then he giggled.

"I so _can't_ imagine you doing this as a teenager," Draco grinned.

"Why not?" Harry mocked. "Because I was a scrawny git? Or, wait, because I didn't know yet that I was gay?"

"Both."

"Oh!" Harry called out in a high voice. "You're supposed to say that I wasn't a scrawny git, that I was beautiful and that you've been secretly lusting after me since the first time you saw me!"

They stared into eachother's eyes for a moment, then burst out laughing loudly.

"You're unbelievable!" Draco hiccupped.

"I made you smile though," Harry grinned at him and blew a raspberry on his stomach.

"You did not!" Draco sat up quickly, but Harry was quicker and had already jumped off the bed. He held out his hand to the blonde. "As you're not gonna sleep, we might as well get dressed. Will you –"

"Yes, I'll pick your clothes. You'd better at least look presentable when we're gonna shake up the Ministry," Draco grinned and ducked when Harry aimed a punch at his arm. "Watch it! I bruise easily!"

"Nobody will see it," Harry laughed.

"You will. And you'll feel so guilty when you'll see a bruise that you made yourself," Draco squeezed his eyes.

"Depends on when and how I made the bruise."

Draco rolled his eyes, then looked at his boyfriend thoughtfully. "You know ... technically we're still teenagers. Still a couple of months to go until we're twenty."

"Oh. Well that makes me feel much better about staining my jeans," Harry said dryly.

"Let's go and see Teddy before we go to the Ministry. We've still got plenty of time."

"Where did that come from?" Harry said surprised.

"You don't wanna know. Or don't you wanna go there?"

"I think it's a great idea. Do you think he'll still recognize us? We haven't seen him for more than a month."

"Of course! You're the crazy uncle with the funny faces. How can he forget that?" Draco grinned mischievously.

"Crazy? Look who's talking! You let him sit on your back while you run around like a lunatic horse!"

* * *

"Oh man! Look how many people turned up! Do you still think this is a good idea?" Harry groaned, turning around at his boyfriend.

"Way to go Harry! Just try and make me nervous, will you?" the blonde groaned back, glancing over Harry's head at the crowd that had gathered. "But yes, I still think it's a good idea to tell everybody exactly what happened. Get it over with and then we can get on with our life."

"I like the sound of that," Harry sighed and managed to give him a faint smile.

"What are you nervous about anyway? Haven't I told you that I will tell the whole story?" Draco squeezed his hand reassuringly.

"I know, but they'll still want me to say something too. And I'm crap at speaking in public."

"Oh really? You're not so bad when you're talking to ... well all of your friends and the whole Weasley family. That's quite a crowd too, don't you think? Just pretend the press isn't here and you'll be fine."

"If you say so."

"Are you boys ready? Then we can start," Arthur Weasley ushered them from the small room into the conference room, where a long table was placed on a stage, facing rows and rows of reporters, photographers, Ministry officials, and friends and family of both Harry and Draco.

"Don't forget: you're not allowed to smile. It would so ruin your bad-boy image," Harry secretly whispered at his boyfriend. Draco rolled his eyes at him and whispered back, "I think we're about to ruin my bad-boy image anyway. Might as well do it right."

The two young men took a seat in the middle of the table with the Minister for Magic. On their left side some representatives of the Wizengamot took place, on their right the head of the Auror squads.

"Welcome, everybody," the Minister said, laying a complete silence on the crowd instantly. "Welcome to this ... well, press conference. We are here to make a statement about the events of the last weeks, wherein Mr. Draco Malfoy and Mr. Harry Potter played the leading roles. In addition to that, they will give evidence as to how and why Mr. Lucius Malfoy has been released from Azkaban. I am fully aware that rumors have been going around that the Malfoy family have paid off Mr. Malfoy's life-sentence in Azkaban with gold. I strongly deny that that is the case. Mr. Lucius Malfoy's sentence has been changed to house-arrest at the Malfoy Manor for an undetermined number of years due to evidence that he is loyal to the current Ministry and has aided his son Draco and Harry. These two young, and I might add, very brave men," the Minister inclined his head at Harry and Draco, who both blushed slightly before he turned back to the crowd, "have tracked down an ancient and very dangerous kind of magic. They risked their lives in their pursue of this old magic, and Mr. Draco Malfoy has successfully destroyed it. In doing this, he has prevented the rise of a new Dark Lord in the near future, or in many, many years from now. However, they would have not succeeded in identifying the nature of this magic, and the importance of destroying it, without the aid of Lucius Malfoy. I will press that Mr. Lucius Malfoy was fully aware of the fact that his son requested his help in order to _destroy_ this ancient magic. I am talking about," he paused for effect, "the Means to No End."

A sound like a light breeze went through the crowd, as there were only a limited number of people present who had ever heard of this.

"I am talking about the way to reach Immortality. Conquering death."

After this sentence of the Minister, the whispering grew considerably.

"And along the way to reaching Everlastingness, gathering more and more magical abilities. Somewhere in this world, there was hidden a dark, dark secret. A ... manual, so you please, in how to transfer your soul to another body. In transferring the soul, the magical abilities were also transferred to the new body. However, the soul of the victim would be destroyed, but the magical abilities stayed present. This transition to a new body would take a lot from the soul, thus could only happen once in a decade. However, if one would make this transition once every decade, over and over again ... you can all imagine the consequence. Gaining of magical abilities, while transferred to a younger, healthy body every time. This would lead to the most powerful, and most terrible wizard ever." The Minister looked around his crowd impressively. "I feel safe in telling you all about this, because the secret to how this is done, has been destroyed. By Mr. Draco Malfoy, aided by Mr. Harry Potter. Therefore, I will now give word to Mr. Draco Malfoy, so he can tell you all how they discovered the existence of this, and how he managed to destroy the Means to No End."

"Thank you, Minister," Draco inclined his head to him, then turned his grey eyes to the crowd in front of them. Harry's eyes were glued to the blonde, who seemed calm and in control. From up close, Harry could see that he was nervous though, the hand on the table trembling slightly and Draco's voice sounding just a tiny bit too high.

"I will start by telling you the tale of the Ouroboros. I know, I know," he silenced the whispering that had started, "It is a children's story. But I assure you that later on, you will understand why I told you this story."

The crowd listened awed, impressed, as Draco started telling about how Harry had discovered the ancient runes in the sea in Spain, how they'd intrigued them, how they'd frightened them as they found out that the riddle was speaking about immortality. Draco quoted the runes slowly, pausing in the appropriate places. He explained how they'd searched for the meaning of the riddle, how his father had helped them during their visits to Azkaban. Draco didn't forget to mention that they'd also found vital clues with the help of Professor McGonagall. The crowd clung onto every word, the only sounds that could be heard were the collective gasps and the scratching of the quills of the reporters when he proceeded to their quest in Ecuador, on the Galapagos Islands. How Harry had shown once again that he is an excellent flyer, how they managed to get on Wolf Island together. All eyes flicked to Harry for a few moments when he visibly shuddered when Draco imitated the voice of the Ouroboros. Draco's raised, slightly mental voice was nothing compared to the snake's voice, as he himself pointed out, but it was horrifying enough to raise the hairs on everybody's arms.

He described in detail how the Death Eaters had found them and how they'd gone crazy and committed suicide after only a short time in the presence of the Ouroboros. All eyes flicked to Harry once again as they realized that he'd been very strong, that he'd endured the agony and torture for several days.

A sigh of relief rippled through the listeners when the immortal snake had died for good.

"I must admit, that my motive has changed several times through this journey," Draco said after a short pause. "At first, however foolishly it sounds to me now, I thought it to be _exciting_ to undertake such an adventure. Later on, when Harry and I discovered that the runes were speaking of a very dangerous and dark kind of magic, I thought that this would be a great opportunity to clear my and my family's name. I am sure my parents will forgive me if I say now, that it is idiotic to risk your life for a good reputation. I came to realize that when Harry and I were faced with the Ouroboros. My motive changed for the last time. We understood that this Magical Creature should be destroyed, to prevent it from passing its knowledge onto a wizard who would use it to become powerful. Powerful enough to rule the world. To destroy all that is dear to us. Our freedom. The freedom to be who we want to be. The freedom to love who we want to love. The freedom to say what we want to say. For you, your children and many generations after us. There was, and has always been, only _one_ Ouroboros. The knowledge of the Means to No End has never been passed on by this creature. That Ouroboros is now dead, the knowledge has been destroyed. Forever."

A stunned silence followed, broken by Mrs. Longbottom who clapped her hands fervently. A big smile crept up Draco and Harry's faces when the whole crowd joined in, resulting in a standing ovation that lasted for many minutes.

"There will now be some time to answer your questions," the Minister eventually said, silencing the crowd. "Yes?" he nodded at a grim looking witch at the front row.

"How do we know this is all true? Is there evidence other than the word of these two boys?"

"May I answer?" the head of the Aurors Office cleared his throat. "Mr. Draco Malfoy willingly took Veritaserum before giving us his testimony. He requested a second dose of Veritaserum before we interrogated him, to prevent any questions about his credibility. The Veritaserum was provided by the Aurors Office."

The witch grumbled something unintelligible and sat back down when the Minister nodded at a short, blushing wizard with a roll of parchment and a quill in front of him.

"Mr. Malfoy, how is it possible that you survived the Ouroboros? He has been – inside your head. And the runes stated clearly that anyone who would try to destroy it, would die."

"I have to correct you on that. The runes stated that anyone who's _greatest desire_ it was to destroy it, would die. Although I wished, and saw the urgent need, to destroy it, it was not my greatest desire," Draco answered in a calm voice, but Harry noticed a worsening in the trembling of Draco's hand that was lying on the table.

Harry put a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder and added, "Please be satisfied with this explanation. Someone's greatest desire is personal. I doubt that any of you would want their own greatest desire to turn up in the papers."

Harry's words were followed by chuckles and amused smiles, but nobody asked further.

The Minister cleared his throat. "I think that all questions concerning the Ouroboros are answered. I hope that after this statement, the rumors about Mr. Lucius Malfoy's change of sentence will stop too. Are there any other questions?"

"Why is Lucius Malfoy not here?"

Harry turned angrily to the man that had asked the question before anybody else could answer. "You've obviously never met a Dementor! They're horrible creatures, and if they've surrounded you every day for more than a year, you're not walking out of there like nothing happened! He's been punished enough, he doesn't have to suffer through questions like that, so that's why he's not here!"

Draco took Harry's hand in his own and squeezed his fingers lightly. "Thank you," he mouthed at his boyfriend.

"Harry? Is it true that you followed private lessons at your house to get your NEWTs? And that Draco lived with you?" a young witch shouted from the back of the crowd.

Harry took a deep breath to calm down and then chuckled in spite of himself. "Yes. Some other students of our year joined us too to get our NEWTs. And yes, Draco has been living with me ever since."

"And now that you've got your NEWTs? Will you move to your own place Draco?" a wizard of the same age that was sitting next to the witch asked with a hopeful look on his face.

Draco swallowed. "No. I will continue living with Harry."

"What are your plans for the future? Will you become an Auror?" someone else shouted.

"No, I have absolutely no desire to do that. I think I've had enough excitement for the rest of my life," Draco answered sarcastically, then turned serious again. "I'd rather pursue a career in Potions."

"And you Harry? Haven't you wanted to become an Auror since your fifth year in Hogwarts?"

"No way! I have no intention of landing myself into any dangerous situation ever again, if you will forgive me. I have no idea what kind of career I'd like, for now I'm just looking forward to settling down," Harry smiled.

"Settling down? Start a family?" an elderly witch smiled at him.

"Uhm, yes if you want to call it that," Harry shrugged. He heard Draco chuckle next to him and shot him a grin.

"And have children?" the witch was now practically beaming. Harry's eyes locked with Draco's for a second, until the blonde smiled and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, my partner and I have not discussed that yet. But as far as I know, it's not possible for two men to have children yet, so it would be a pretty useless discussion, don't you think?" Harry fought to control his laughter as a rustling like a strong wind went through the crowd. He looked at the astonished and smiling faces and felt a heavy burden being lifted from his shoulders. He beamed at Draco, who returned an equally big smile.

"Don't worry people, don't worry," Draco raised his voice, silencing the crowd. "Harry is godfather to an energetic two-year-old wizard, so we're not totally devoid of the joys of raising children."

"I think we've said enough now," Harry laughed.

"Thank you all for coming here. Thank you Minister for giving us this chance," Draco inclined his head at him, then thanked all the other officials at the table one by one. A loud applause broke out when Harry and Draco stood up and left the stage together, their hands linked.

* * *

"It's about time you came out man!" Seamus clapped Harry's back laughing.

"You knew!"

"Of course! If even Ron found out on his own, then how could I have missed it?" his Hogwarts roommate grinned at him. Draco turned around just in time to catch Teddy who came running at him at top speed. Andromeda smiled at him apologetically, but Draco merely smiled back at her and hugged the toddler, hoisting him onto his hip.

"Hello big boy!" Harry laughed when he heard the small boy cry out in amusement when Draco tickled his belly. The dark-haired wizard nuzzled Teddy's neck and blew a raspberry, eliciting a giggle from the boy. His hair turned from purple to pink and he buried his face in Draco's robes, secretly peeking out if Harry would do it again. He wasn't disappointed when Harry caught him and blew another raspberry. Harry's arm wrapped around Draco's waist unconsciously when he leaned into the blonde to tease the toddler in his arms. Teddy hid in Draco's robes for real when flashes went off all around them when the photographers breached the security line that had been set up for the press conference.

"Oh crap," Draco muttered, his arm tightening around the frightened boy.

"Just smile, then it'll be over faster," Harry shot him an uneasy smile, but he didn't back away or remove his arm from the blonde's waist when they slowly made their way to the exit.

"Will we see you at Malfoy Manor this afternoon aunt Andromeda?" Draco asked when he handed Teddy back to her.

"Teddy needs his nap. And I'm not sure it will be a good idea to take him to the Manor," she shook her head.

"We could babysit him tomorrow, then you're free to visit Narcissa," Harry offered. "In fact, I think we should make a schedule with when we'll take care of him, so that you'll have some time for yourself."

"You'll have plenty time for that, now that you're _settling down_ with Draco," Ron joined them grinning, Neville on his heels.

"Oh shut up you!" Harry called out laughing. "Tell me again; who's engaged here?"

"Congratulations Ronald. Miss Granger is the lucky lady, I presume?"

"Mrs. Longbottom," Harry smiled at Neville's grandmother.

"Yes, she is. Thank you," Ron beamed at her.

"And congratulations to you, Harry and Draco. I am sure that your, however thrilling and excellent told, story didn't do any justice to the true challenge and terror that the Ouroboros presented. And thank you for mentioning my dear brother."

"Sorry we couldn't let you know about it earlier. We've been -" Harry started to apologize, but she cut him off in a friendly tone.

"I am sure that the Ministry kept you busy, so I don't blame you. I am merely glad that my brother was able to assist you and that you didn't fail to mention him, even though he is not a wizard." She now smiled at Draco, who was the one who had talked about Alfred's help. Draco paled slightly and swallowed hard before he answered her.

"He didn't help us willingly. I offered him a potion for his rheumatics, but I had put in some Veritaserum. I know that it is illegal, but Alfred was the only one who knew how to get onto Wolf Island and he wasn't going to tell us willingly."

The old woman shook her head, still smiling. "I know he wouldn't have told anybody about his boat. I am sure you didn't do him any harm?"

"No, no. After he told us about the boat and the island, we modified his memory so he doesn't know he told us. As far as he knows, we visited him to give him a potion for his joints and left after some chit-chat," Harry said hastily.

"Good, good. He will be delighted to hear that he played a vital role in this story though."

"Hey Neville? You should go and visit him. He's excellent with plants, I'm sure you can learn loads from eachother," Harry grinned at Neville.

"He is? Wow, I never knew!" Neville beamed. "Can I go and visit him Gran?"

Draco laughed when he heard him ask his grandmother for permission, but quickly stopped when Harry smacked his head.

"Shut up you. You polish your shoes every time before you visit your mother," Harry glared at his boyfriend. Ron snickered at this comment, but now he was put in place by Mrs. Longbottom who followed the conversation amused. "I think asking someone for permission _and_ polishing your shoes are signs of respect. It's good to know that at least some wizards have been taught manners by their family."

Ron flushed pink when Harry punched his shoulder. "Ha. Take that!"

"Gran!" Neville said uncomfortably. "You can't say that about the Weasleys!"

"Oh, I'm not commenting on Arthur and Molly, dear. I know that Percy and Ginevra have perfect manners. It's just that some boys never learn," she shook her head at Ron, but then at Harry too.

"I can't help it that my family's ... well not so well-mannered. But don't worry Mrs. Longbottom, since I'm obviously _starting a family_ with Draco, I'm sure he'll teach me some manners."

Everybody but Draco chuckled at Harry's words. He scowled. "Nice. First I have to teach you how to dress, and now I have to teach you manners too? Can't we just hire a nanny or something?"

"Oh don't worry, I'll teach you things too," Harry laughed, looking into the grey eyes. Draco was just pretending to be angry.

"Like what?" he grunted.

"Like ... I can teach you how to play games without cheating!" Harry said triumphantly.

"Good luck with that! I think he is way too much Slytherin for that!" Everybody turned at that comment.

"Blaise!" Draco grinned at his friend and hugged him shortly. "Good to see you."

"I thought I'd rescue you out of this Gryffindor nest. Can't be good," Zabini smirked.

"Well I can rescue myself, thank you very much. In fact, I don't think I want to be rescued from this particular Gryffindor," Draco wrapped his arm around Harry's waist. "Ready to go Harry?"

"Ready to go Draco."


	15. Chapter 15

_Chapter 15_

"Master Draco, Mr. Harry Potter! Welcome sirs," the house elf squeaked when he opened the front door of the Malfoy Manor to them.

"Where is Mother?" Draco nodded gratefully to the elf when he took his cloak. Harry followed his example, nervously smoothing down his robes.

"In the tea room sir. She is waiting for you sir."

Draco turned to Harry and took both his hands in his own. "Don't worry. You look fine. More than fine," the grey eyes shone warmly when they slowly moved over Harry's dark green robes. "Pretty hot, to be exact."

"Shut up!" Harry grumbled, but he couldn't help smiling a little. "We're visiting your parents!"

"Come on," Draco grabbed his hand and their fingers linked when he lead the way. Harry noticed the faint trembling of the blonde's hand again. He was also nervous.

"Good afternoon Mother."

"Oh Draco!" Narcissa jumped up and hugged her son tightly. When she released him, Harry nervously stepped forward. "Hello Mrs. Malfoy. How do you do?" he held out his hand politely, but she pulled him in for a hug too. Harry shot a surprised look at his boyfriend, but he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Thank you Harry. Thank you for bringing Draco home," she said emotional, surprising Harry even more.

"But I didn't do anything! Draco's the one who destroyed the Ouroboros! He's the one who brought _me_ home safely!"

"I have seen the press conference. And as dim-witted as some people might have been about it, I know that you are the reason that my Draco survived."

"You knew?" Draco said softly, his grey eyes flashing from his mother to Harry and back again.

"I knew that Harry was much more than just a friend to you," she smiled softly. "Lucius is in the garden. I told him you were coming."

Draco understood the dismissal and motioned Harry to follow him outside. They exchanged a surprised look, but before they could say anything about Narcissa's surprising words they had reached the terrace.

"Father," Draco said softly as he pulled up a chair to where his father was sitting. Harry waited at the entrance, a shudder going through his body when he saw the blonde man. He was only a ghost of who he used to be, his face an unnatural, greyish color and his hair now more white than blond. He looked like he would break if you touched him, despite the firm grasp that he held on to the armrests of his chair, his knuckles standing out white. Draco slowly, gently placed his hand over one of his skeletal hands. "Father."

The haunted eyes slowly averted from the flower garden and focused on his son. "Draco." The name came out in a sigh, and something that could have been a smile crossed over his face.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come home after the hearing at the Wizengamot. We had to give a press conference, and the Minister explained why you were released from – from prison." Draco couldn't manage to say the word 'Azkaban'.

"I watched it."

"You did?" Draco swallowed. It was hard to look at his father. The man that had always seemed so strong, but who now seemed so vulnerable, but it was even harder to look at his face now that he knew that his son had a boyfriend.

"You and Harry Potter."

"Yes. Me and Harry."

"Years ago I asked you to befriend him, and you didn't. And now that it's all over, you do."

"It's not like that Father. We accidentally ran into eachother and surprisingly enough we became friends. It's nothing like it could have been back at school. This is not some highschool crush."

Lucius cringed at the last word. "It wasn't just a tale to tell the press?"

"I fell in love with Harry. And even if you disapprove ... there's nothing that can stop me from loving Harry."

Harry turned around and fled back inside the house. In the hallway he leaned heavily to the wall, his breath coming out in small gasps. When his knees buckled, he sank to the floor, burying his face in his arms. Violent sobs took over his body, shaking him to the core. Hot tears spilled over, running down his cheeks. He looked up scared when he felt a hand on his shoulder and found Narcissa kneeling down next to him.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Malfoy," Harry stammered, wiping at the tears hurriedly. She merely smiled at him and wrapped her arms around him gently.

"Call me Narcissa," she whispered into his hair, her hand running smoothing circles on the man's back. "Or Mother."

Harry squeezed his eyes shut, new tears rolling down relentlessly. The way she comforted him, it really did feel like a mother! The only one who had been remotely like a mother to him, was Mrs. Weasley, and even she hadn't held him and comforted him in this way.

The shaking of his shoulders slowly subsided and he pulled away from her awkwardly.

"To the outside world we appear cold, impassive. That is just a façade, keeping up a reputation. Here at the Manor, at home, we're just normal people. It's okay to show your emotions Harry," her voice was kind as she stood up, offering Harry her hand. "Draco left our house because that changed. When the Dark Lord lived here, he ... contaminated the whole house. Nobody spoke their mind anymore, Lucius couldn't tell Draco that he loved him anymore. Then it got even worse, the Dark Lord wanted my son to die, and we couldn't protect him. There was nothing we could do, the power that he had over Lucius with the Dark Mark, it was incredible. The only reason why the Dark Lord didn't kill Draco himself, was because it could start a riot amongst his followers. Everybody considered their families to be protected, but if the son of one of his most faithful followers would be killed ..." Narcissa's voice trailed off and she didn't continue.

"Draco realized in time that Voldemort should be stopped, but his father didn't. Draco blames him for that," Harry looked Narcissa right in the eye, they were almost the same height now.

"I will be honest in saying that Lucius will never regret following the Dark Lord. He only regrets the way it ended and that it landed him in prison. The only reason that he helped you discover the secret of Everlastingness, was that he wanted Draco to forgive him. He would have never destroyed it himself, he wouldn't want to prevent a new Dark Lord from rising. However wrong his beliefs might be, he truly does love Draco. He is not all bad."

Harry shook his head slowly, trying to process all that the blonde woman just told him so calmly, with such a gentle expression on her face. "You think his beliefs are wrong?"

"Yes. Someone who breaks up families ... long before the end I realized that it was wrong to follow the Dark Lord. There's nobody in this world that I love more than Draco, but there was nothing I could do anymore," she said softly. Her grey eyes which were so much like Draco's, were full of regret when she pressed a kiss to Harry's forehead.

"At least we have one thing in common. I also love Draco more than anything in the world. But maybe you should tell him all this too," Harry said softly, his voice still a bit shaky from his emotional outburst earlier.

"I already know."

Harry and Narcissa both turned to the doorway where they found Draco, various emotions crossing over his face. In a few big steps he'd reached Harry and grabbed his hand tightly.

"Not all Malfoys are bad."

Harry looked at his boyfriend sideways, "I already knew." He looked from one blonde to the other and grimaced. "I'd better say hi to Mr. Malfoy now, right? I'll walk into him sooner or later anyway."

"You don't have to if you don't want."

Harry shrugged and started towards the door, Draco followed him closely.

"Your father doesn't approve of us, does he?" he asked softly, afraid to look at his boyfriend.

"Yes, he disapproves. I wouldn't have expected anything else though," Draco answered and laced their fingers. Harry thought he even felt the blonde move his sleeve up a bit, so that their linked hands were clearly visible. A funny feeling stirred in his belly when he realized that this was Draco's way of standing up to his father. He wouldn't kiss him or hug him in front of Lucius, but he wouldn't hide the fact that they were together either.

"Mr. Malfoy," Harry inclined his head.

"Potter," Lucius looked up, his eyes resting on the two men for a second. An uncomfortable silence settled over them, until he looked straight into Harry's eyes. "Thank you for getting me out of Azkaban."

"You have to thank Draco for that. He's the one who ..." Harry's voice trailed off. He'd given this answer so many times already, why would he bother saying it again to this man who tried to hand him over to Voldemort so many times?  
"I will let Mother know when I visit again. Goodbye Father," Draco said formally. He squeezed Harry's fingers tightly when they left the garden.

"I'm sorry, we won't be staying for tea Mother. I'd rather go home now," the blonde told Narcissa when they met her inside.

"Will you come back soon?" she said sadly.

"I will," Draco smiled at his mother. "And I expect aunt Andromeda to visit soon too. We will take Teddy off of her hands more."

"That's nice. Will you come back too Harry?"

"I – maybe. You're invited to come to Grimmauld Place anytime though," Harry hesitated to say that he would come back to the Manor.

"Thank you. I will send you word by owl in advance," she smiled warmly and hugged both men goodbye.

* * *

When they got home, Harry proceeded to the living room and plopped down on the couch. It had been an emotionally exhausting day. He closed his eyes and let everything pass again. The longer he lay there, just breathing and thinking, the more relaxed he got. It felt like they'd closed off a chapter of their life, and were ready to start with a whole new, blank page. No more life-threatening adventures, no more hiding the fact that they were gay, no more hiding from eachother. Just ... settling down together. The moment he realized this, he got up from the couch energetically, setting off through the house to look for Draco.

He eventually found his boyfriend in the kitchen, one of the last places he looked.

"Hey," Draco smiled at him, his hands busy with chopping vegetables.

"What are you doing here? Where's Kreacher?" Harry said surprised, walking up to him and wrapping his arms around the blonde from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder.

"I think he's upstairs. I wanted to make you dinner."

"Oh. Wow."

"We've been doing that ourselves for a month, and I kind of missed it," Draco said awkwardly, but he smiled when he poured them both a glass of wine. He made the dark-haired man sit down at the table and handed him the glass.

"I'm sorry my father is such an arse," he said when he went back to the stove.

"That's something _he_ should apologize for, not you."

Draco shrugged his shoulders. "I'm glad you discovered ... my real mother though."

"How much did you hear?" Harry slowly sipped his wine, looking at the blonde's profile while he went on with dinner, talking to his hands rather than to his boyfriend.

"Everything."

"How much did you see?"

"Everything," Draco repeated much softer. "I followed you shortly after you left the garden."

Now Harry was glad that the blonde wasn't looking at him. They were both crap at talking about things like this, talking about emotions and the fact that Draco kept himself busy with the food made it easier to speak his mind. "I don't even know why I broke down like that. It was just – everything. Anger, relief, envy."

"The anger and relief I understand, because I was feeling exactly the same. But envy?" Draco answered slowly.

Harry didn't answer, but continued to watch his boyfriend rummaging around. Draco was the first one to break the silence. "You know, Mother always wanted to have more children, but somehow it never happened. She'd be most happy to – well for lack of a better word, adopt you."

"Too bad you can't give her any grandchildren then," Harry's voice was barely more than a whisper.

"There's you now. And Teddy," Draco simply answered.

"Too bad you chose someone your father doesn't like."

"That's his problem. Mother loves you, you know."

"Not in the way she loves you. I saw the way she looked when you greeted her."

Draco finally turned and walked over to his boyfriend, taking both his hands in his own. "Is that it? You envied me? You didn't see the way she looked when she hugged you!"

"Really?"

"Really," Draco pressed a soft kiss to his lips. When the green eyes sparkled up at him, he smiled and made the last preparations for dinner. Harry set the table for two, but instead of taking the usual places opposite eachother, he placed it next to eachother.

Draco refilled both their glasses and sat down next to him, their thighs lightly touching. Harry couldn't resist sliding his arm around his boyfriend's waist and pulling him slightly closer.

"Harry?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Harry's face was all surprised and confused when he backed away a little to look into the grey eyes.

"For being such a lousy boyfriend."

"Such a – what!" Harry repeated astonished.

"We've been home for almost two weeks now, and I've been turning you down ever since."

"It's only twelve days, and it was shitty to give the testimonies and then wait for the Wizengamot to discuss your father's case and then the nerves for the press conference and going to your parents' house ..." Harry's voice trailed off when Draco shook his head.

"Don't make excuses for me. Today when I talked to Father, it was the first time in those twelve days that I said out loud that I love you. And I didn't even say it to you."

"I know that you do. It's in the way you do things, do things for me. Hold my hand when I need it, or give me a smile. It's okay Draco."

"It's not. It's like I'm taking you for granted already. I'm being absorbed in my own shit without thinking –"

"Shut it, you ass!" Harry cut him off smiling. "The time you spent alone? I needed that alone-time too. Otherwise I would have come looking for you. Now let's get started on this delicious dinner that you made. Made just for me."

A smile tugged on the corners of Harry's lips when Draco looked at him sideways. "Yeah. I made it just for you."

"Can I propose a toast?"

"Anything you want Harry."

"A toast to you, my lovely boyfriend. To us," Harry raised his glass.

"I'm not _lovely._ Next thing I know you're gonna say I'm _cute_," Draco grumbled, but then he laughed. "And to my charming boyfriend. To us!"

They shared a tender kiss before they clinked their glasses together and tucked in to the food.


	16. Chapter 16

_Chapter 16_

Harry kissed Draco's pink lips when they finished dessert. "Mmm. That was delicious."

"The food?"

"Yeah, that too," Harry giggled and pressed another kiss to the inviting lips.

"Too? What else?" a smile tugged on the corners of Draco's mouth. Harry let out another giggle and kissed him more passionately.

"This," he whispered into the kiss.

"You know, that giggle is actually quite cute," Draco backed away a little, but he wrapped his arms tightly around the other man's waist.

"Cute? Seriously Draco!"

"Okay, okay. I'll never say anything like that again," the blonde cringed.

"No, no you can say it. I promise I'll never tell anyone else that you can be so _girlish_."

"Said the one who giggles."

"Right. Point taken," Harry laughed softly and kissed him again. Draco rose from his chair, pulling his boyfriend up in his arms. They made their way over to the couch slowly, not wanting to break the kiss for longer than absolutely necessary. Harry flopped down clumsily, pulling the blonde with him so they ended up in one heap of tangled limbs.

"Nice Harry, very nice," Draco laughed muffled and positioned them in a bit more comfortable pose, straddling Harry's legs.

"What baby? Don't you like being all knotted up with me?"

"Baby?" Draco's eyebrows disappeared under his blonde locks.

Harry groaned. "Oh. Right. You can call me honey, but I can't call you baby?"

"When did I call you honey!"

"Just now!" Harry's face mirrored the amazed expression on the other man's face.

"What? No, no no," Draco burst out laughing after a short pause. "I said _Harry_. Not _honey_."

"Oh."

Draco's laughter quickly faded when he saw the look on his face. "I can call you honey though, if you want. If you promise you'll never hold it against me."

Harry huffed indignantly. "I'm not gonna make you call me sweet names."

"Oh come on Harry. You're not really angry, are you?" Draco stroked his cheeks softly, his thumb trailing the pursed lips. He cringed when he saw a triumphant look appear on Harry's face.

"You already called me a sweet name. You called me baby. Once."

Draco closed his eyes, remembering the night they both had a bad dream and took a deep breath before he answered. "I know. I did. I admit it. I'm a big pussy. Hold it against me for the rest of my life."

"I will. If that means you'll be mine the rest of your life," Harry said softly, wrapping his arms around his boyfriends neck. The grey eyes shone warmly when he opened them quickly.

"In that case, I don't really mind. It's too corny for words, but I like the sound of it. Honey." Draco made sure he articulated the last word perfectly, and got rewarded by a big smile from his boyfriend. Harry's hands disappeared in the blonde locks when he pulled him closer, their mouths melting together. They kissed gently, lips slowly brushing against eachother, soft nips and licks eliciting quiet moans. When Harry's tongue sought out the blonde's lips more persistently, Draco parted them slightly, angling his head. The dark-haired man explored the inside of his boyfriend's mouth thoroughly, his hand weaving through the silky blond hair. When Draco couldn't handle the tantalizing kiss any longer, he moved their bodies flush against eachother, their chests pressing together. One of his hands fisted Harry's shirt, the other one finally came to rest in the nape of his neck. He locked them firmly together when he battled his tongue with Harry's, craving to taste the inside of the younger man's mouth. Harry put up a nice fight, until Draco's desperate moans reached his ears and he ceased the battle for dominance. He totally surrendered in the blonde's arms that kept a vice-like grip on him. As Draco devoured his boyfriend completely, his possessive hold loosened and he became more passionate than desperate. His fist unclenched and came to rest against Harry's heaving chest as he pulled back slightly. "You're evil," he whispered breathless.

"Tell me you don't like it and I'll stop," Harry replied just as breathless, not a hint of sarcasm or mocking in his voice. He felt Draco's lips curl up in a smile when he pressed a kiss to his cheek. Harry wrapped his arms around the other man's back, hugging him tightly as he buried his face in his neck. Draco couldn't resist flicking his tongue out, tickling the sensitive skin on the collarbone. He kept repeating this until Harry whimpered and moved, loosening his hold around his torso. Draco let out a surprised gasp when Harry's hand wandered down his back and disappeared under the waistband of his jeans. Instead of grabbing the blonde's ass, he ghosted his fingertips over the firm cheeks, sending a violent shiver up his spine.

"Pure evil," Draco breathed as he felt Harry's hands move back up, taking his shirt with them. Their chests parted for a second as Draco allowed his shirt to slide up over his head. Harry's lips caressed the pale skin of his shoulder, his gentle fingers running up and down his sides. Draco pressed him with his back firmly into the couch and claimed his mouth in a passionate kiss, their tongues untiringly battling their erotic battle. His fingers found the buttons on Harry's shirt and he let it slide down his shoulders as he backed away a little, his eyes fixed on the skin that he was slowly uncovering. When the shirt had come undone completely, he traced one finger down Harry's sternum, watching the muscles underneath the tanned skin move when Harry squirmed. Their eyes locked when he pushed the dark-haired man into a lying position and hovered over him before he let his lips melt around one nipple, his fingers caressing the other one. Harry's whole body arched up into the touch, his eyes snapping shut. When Draco switched to the other nipple, Harry's hand found his way back into Draco's jeans, which were now painfully tight. Draco abandoned the abuse of his now over-sensitive nipples and crawled higher, nipping lightly at the younger man's lower lip.

"Bedroom," he breathed, his hands finding Harry's hands. Harry didn't reply, but let the blonde pull him up from the couch willingly. Considering how long it had taken them to cross the short distance to the couch earlier, it took them a surprisingly short time to reach the master bedroom.

"It's not –"

Harry got cut off by this boyfriend immediately. "It is. Finished it yesterday." Draco opened the bedroom door, turned on some lights and gently pushed him inside.

"Wow," Harry whispered amazed. The room was light and beautiful and ... it was _them_!

"You like it?" Draco asked anxiously. "I started off with the green, your green and –"

"My eyes are this green?"

"They are when you're excited," Draco mumbled, he seemed to be a bit embarrassed. "And the only other color that would match with it was grey. But we can change it of course if you don't like it. I only realized when it was finished that the combination made the Slytherin colors. I'm sorry about that."

"Are you crazy? This looks awesome. And I don't have anything against Slytherin. Not anymore. How could I, if the one person that I love most is a Slytherin?" Harry smiled widely at the blonde and pulled him into his arms.

"Really?" Draco said in a small voice.

"Really," Harry put small kisses on the pink lips.

"You don't mind the colors?"

"It's perfect. It's us. We _are_ grey and green," Harry pointed at their eyes smiling. "Now shut up. As much as I love the room, we came here for something else. I can't wait to break in this huge bed."

Draco laughed softly, running his fingers over the naked chest teasingly. "Yeah?" he whispered softly to his lips. Harry didn't even bother replying but glued their mouths together as they stumbled over to the bed. Draco stripped them both down to their boxers before he gently pushed the other man onto the bed. He hovered over him, taking in the incredible sight of the well-built, tanned body until his eyes reached Harry's face.

"I love you Draco."

The blonde responded by kissing him tenderly, pressing their bodies flush together as he lowered himself on top of his boyfriend. He trailed kisses down his throat, their hands linked until he felt Harry fumble around for his wand.

"What are you doing?" Draco whispered, his lips brushing over his ear and his tongue flicking out experimentally. A shiver of delight ran through the dark-haired man when he sucked on his skin just below his ear.

"Just ... getting the lights," Harry's voice hitched as Draco's fingers and lips kept on continuing their exploration of his neck and throat.

"Leave them on. I want to see you," he answered, looking into the emerald eyes.

"Why?" the sound was barely a whisper.

"Because you're beautiful. I wanna discover every inch of you," the blonde whispered back, but then he backed away surprised. Harry had closed his eyes and shook his head.

"Harry, look at me." He waited until the green eyes focused on him before he continued. "You are beautiful. Even if you think that you aren't ... just believe that to me, you are the most beautiful person in the world. If you really want, I will turn off the lights, but I'd prefer to leave them on. I wanna _see_ you."

When Harry's eyes travelled over his boyfriend's body, he agreed that leaving the lights on had its advantages. Even though he knew that he himself was still as much a scrawny git as he'd been at school, now he could see Draco's perfect body. Pale perfection, to every last curve, plane and angle. As perfect as the evening he'd secretly watched Draco washing himself in the faint light of the camp fire. He'd watched his lean back, his lush ass and his long, strong legs. He'd watched the sensitive spots, the dip where his buttock turned into his leg, the back of his knees –

"Draco? Will you tell me what we did ... the first night we were together?"

"Now?" Draco had seen his eyes travelling over his body and a slight frown had appeared on Harry's face. "You remember something?"

Harry slowly shook his head and kissed him softly. "There's some things that I know, and I don't even know how I know them. If that makes any sense."

"Does your rambling ever make sense?" Draco teased him, his hands never stilling in exploring his boyfriend's body.

"You don't want to tell? Or you don't remember as much as you made me think?"

"You have every right to know, but it's ..." Draco's voice trailed off and he blushed slightly. Harry shifted their bodies so that he could look at his face better. The blonde got into a more comfortable position and tangled their legs together, their erections locked between their bodies.

"What's the last thing you remember?"

"The couch, and you kissing me suddenly," Harry answered, burying his nose in the pale neck.

"You kissed me back and ... well jumped on me. You were on my lap, kissing me and pulling on my shirt and ... I can't deny I was just as enthusiastic so at one point we tumbled over and fell to the floor. I thought you'd been hurt because I fell on top of you, but you barely noticed. We went straight to your bedroom and you hexed my clothes off when you couldn't get them unbuttoned fast enough," Draco laughed softly and he felt Harry chuckle, his face still buried. "I could hardly stop you long enough to get your clothes off, because you ... you kept on kissing and touching my whole body. You'd pushed me on the bed and refused to even let me kiss you. It was like you were – mapping my body. From head to toe. I was aching to touch you because you were so hard and ready and I wanted you to touch me because it was almost hurting, but you would have none of it, you even made me turn around to my stomach."

Harry looked up into the grey eyes. "And I ... mapped you from head to toe again?"

"Yes. It was torture. It was so good, but at the same time it was torture, because I was just plain horny and you refused to let me get off. And then you bit me. It hurt, but it felt so good," Draco's hand unconsciously drifted to a spot on his left buttock. Harry followed it immediately, imagining he could still see the tooth prints.

"I remember that I begged you," Draco let his eyes down embarrassed, "but you told me not to be impatient. And then ... you moved ... more to the center and you ... you _licked_ me." They both gasped for air, Draco at the memory, Harry at the thought that _he_ had done something like that.

"You – you tongue-fucked me. Merlin, it was incredible! I never thought I'd even enjoy that, but ... Damn!" Draco's eyes were glazed over, and when he finally focused on his boyfriend, he saw that Harry was blushing brilliantly.

"I thought that you were going to fuck me, but then you turned me around and finally touched me. Everything. You jerked me off and kept on licking the tip ... like it was icecream. Like it was the tastiest thing in the world. I didn't last long, of course," Draco couldn't help grinning, "and it was the best ever. I was a boneless mass afterwards, but then I saw that you hadn't come yet. So you finally let me do what I wanted to do, and we kissed and it was a bit weird because I tasted myself, but then I tasted you and your neck and your stomach and your balls. It was beautiful, you kept on arching your back and moaning and ..."

"Begging?" Harry imagined, the whole scene unfolding in his mind.

"Yeah," Draco whispered and pressed their lips together in a passionate kiss. Their bodies writhed together, arms and legs tangling. Draco's hands fumbled with the waistband of the other man's boxers and he groaned frustrated. "You have to teach me how to hex your clothes off."

"I will, but not now," Harry grinned and returned his eager kisses. When he located his wand, he made their last clothes disappear in an instant.

"Much better," Draco growled, his hands running up and down Harry's sides as he moved down his body. He eyed Harry's dripping erection hungrily, approaching it torturously slowly. When he extensively explored the tender skin on Harry's hips, Harry's head suddenly snapped up, stilling the blonde's movements.

"You sucked me off."

"You remember?" Draco linked their hands when the dark-haired man pulled him up for a zealous kiss.

"Yeah I remember _that_. Sweet Merlin, you're good. You know what else I know?" Harry gently pushed him over onto his stomach. The pale body almost shook in anticipation when Harry slid lower. His teeth gently nipped where his ass-cheeks turned to his legs and Draco shuddered in delight, his hands clutching the sheets tightly. A strangled moan escaped his lips and Harry smoothly slid up his body.

"Breathe Draco," he whispered in his ear and his hands brushed the long blond hair aside to reveal his neck. His fingers ghosted over the spot precisely in the center of his neck and Draco's whole body tensed up as goosebumps spread from under Harry's fingers. "It seems I remember some of your most sensitive spots," he whispered in his low, husky voice.

"Please Harry," the blonde whined.

"Please what?" Harry whispered, nuzzling his neck and tasting the delicate skin.

"Please ... let me turn around and touch you. I want to feel –"

Harry pressed his finger to the pink lips and moved himself up to support his weight on his knees and arms. Draco quickly turned around and wrapped his arms around Harry, making him lose balance and Harry flopped down on top of him. They kissed deeply and passionate, until the need for air broke them apart. Draco flipped them both over and started his journey over Harry's body all over again. Harry whimpered and moaned and groaned at every touch, thrashing the bed and bucking up his hips. When Draco eventually reached his throbbing erection, Harry stopped him and flipped him over. He explored Draco's body with his fingers and lips and tongue and teeth until the blonde almost cried out. They were both driven crazy by need.

"Please touch me Harry. Please," Draco's voice shook as their lips locked once again, the feeling of their cocks sliding against eachother almost unbearable.

"No, I want you to make love to me," Harry buried his face in his neck when Draco's fingers kept invariably seeking out his sensitive spots.

"I am. I'll do anything you want me to," Draco was almost coming apart at the seams.

"I need you. I want you inside me."

Through the haze, Draco tried to focus on the meaning of Harry's words. His plea.

"Draco? Please?" Harry whispered and pulled the blonde on top of him, settling Draco between his legs when he pulled them up.

The grey eyes finally focused and he understood what Harry was asking him to do.

"Unless you –"

Draco cut his boyfriend off in a hoarse voice. "But I don't want to hurt you."

"You won't. I need you," Harry suddenly had lube in his hand and the blonde coated his fingers in it. He locked eyes with Harry once again to silently ask if he was sure, but all he could see in the emerald depths, was love, need and determination.

When his first finger breached his entrance, Harry's hips bucked up from the bed and he moaned.

"Sssht. It's okay honey. Try to relax," Draco said softly, anxiously watching his boyfriend's face. But Harry wriggled his hips, forcing his finger further in.

"More Draco! I want _you_."

The blonde let out a relieved breath and slipped a second finger inside as he captured Harry's lips in a loving kiss. The dark head slammed back in the cushions when the third finger entered him and brushed his prostate.

"Sweet lord!" he panted as Draco did it again. "What the – fucking hell! No ... oh yeah. Don't – right there yesss – don't stop," Harry rambled as he fucked himself on Draco's fingers. Draco almost let out a relieved laugh that his boyfriend seemed to like it so much, but then he turned serious as he positioned himself at his entrance. Harry opened his eyes and their eyes locked.

"Tell me if I hurt you and I'll stop," Draco whispered worriedly.

"I trust you and I love you Draco," Harry pulled him in for a gentle kiss. As Draco pushed in past the first ring of tight muscles, he felt the body beneath him tense up. Harry's breath came in sharp gasps from his parted lips. Draco's eyes snapped shut as he fought to keep control of himself when he pushed in further. The tight heat that engulfed him was so overwhelming, so tremendous –

"Stop ... for a moment," Harry groaned, his fingers digging deep into Draco's shoulder.

Draco's eyes flew open at the pained tone in the other man's voice. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry Harry," he whispered and gave him time to adjust. Harry experimentally wriggled his hips, pushing back at him. Draco slid in further, until he was buried ball-deep.

"I'm okay baby. You can move," Harry panted, his hands sliding over the tense muscles in the pale arms. Draco slid out and pushed in slowly, clearly restraining himself. He was barely clinging on, but then he stilled and wrapped his hand around Harry's cock. His erection had wilted a bit at the pain of the intrusion, but after a few strokes he came back in full glory. Harry arched into the touch, causing delightful friction for the blonde. Draco kept on stroking him slowly, remembering that he hadn't wanted the frantic pace the previous time they were together. Harry tensed and relaxed under his ministrations, his hips bucking erratically. The blonde let out a low moan when Harry impaled him deeper as he pulled up his legs higher.

When Draco started thrusting in and out, he tried to keep a steady pace. His head was swimming, his whole body was tingling and shaking and buzzing. His hand kept on moving over Harry's throbbing cock, the irregular strokes pulling moans and whimpers from Harry's lips.

In a silent cry, Harry's entire body tensed up and he started spouting semen over the other man's hand and his own chest. His body rocked as he rode out the waves of pleasure, one hand clenching the sheets and the other digging deep into the flesh of Draco's hip. The blonde watched awed as the beautiful body shook underneath him, clenched around him, his own feeling momentarily forgotten. When Harry's body relaxed and sank back on the bed, the friction and the residual spasms sent a shockwave of pleasure through Draco, pushing him right over the edge. He filled the other man's body in violent spurts, letting himself go. He was barely aware he cried out Harry's name when the dark-haired man wrapped his legs around his waist to pull him in deeper. When he came back down from his high, he was lying comfortably next to Harry, who had wrapped his arms around him loosely.

"Welcome back baby," Harry smiled at him brilliantly when the grey eyes opened.

"I wasn't out," Draco pushed himself up on one elbow to have a better look at his boyfriend's face and smiled back at him.

"I meant it sarcastically. But I'm feeling so good that I'm not even able to get it out the way I wanted," Harry gave him a satisfied grin.

The blonde lowered his head and kissed him softly on the lips. "I'm sorry I hur-"

Harry cut him off by putting a finger to his lips and shook his head. "Don't."

Their lips met once again in a loving kiss and Harry let out a content sigh and combed through the silk blond hair. Draco took his hand and laced their fingers thoughtfully.

"What are you thinking about?" Harry softly said and pulled his boyfriend a bit closer. The grey eyes moved from their hands to his face, then eventually locked on the green eyes.

"I love you Harry. I will love and cherish you forever."

"I love you too. And I will be yours for the rest of my life, Draco."

The air around them crackled. They both held their breath when they felt sparkles of magic surround them, but their eyes never left the other. Their linked hands seemed to emit a glow that slowly spread through their entire bodies.

When the glow and sparkles disappeared, they were both left with a feeling of intense happiness.

"What in Merlin's name happened?" Harry whispered awed. Draco looked back at him, just as taken aback and surprised as his lover.

"I -" Draco shook his head in wonder. "I -" he tried again and sat up. Harry sat up with him, wrapping them in a tight cocoon of sheets.

"You know what that was?" Harry repeated softly.

"I think so. I think we just spontaneously bonded."

"Bonded?"

"Our bodies formed a bond. Like ... like ... " Draco was lost for words.

"Marriage?" Harry's voice was barely a whisper.

"Uhm, yeah for lack of a better word, marriage. A magical equivalent."

"We just spontaneously got magically married," Harry repeated.

"I think so."

"You think so, or you're sure?"

"I'm sure. I just don't know how that happened. Usually this only happens at a – well, at a wedding. When you purposely exchange vows," Draco said, a bit uncomfortable under Harry's inquiring stare.

"Usually? But not always?"

"I've heard of spontaneous bonding before. Never understood how and why it happened though. Never really ... interested me." Draco's last two words came out in a whisper. He cupped Harry's face in both his hands and slowly pressed a kiss to his lips. "I'm yours now."

"I already was yours," Harry whispered to his lips, kissing him back.

"But not officially."

Harry pulled back abruptly, then laughed. "This can't count as official," he gestured around at the thrashed bed and grinned impishly when his eyes moved over their naked bodies.

"I really think it does. Come on," Draco got up from the bed and handed him his boxers and put on his own. He grabbed Harry's hand and pulled him out of the room.

"Where are you going?" Harry protested half-heartedly. He'd rather stay in bed. Together.

"We're gonna find out ... well all about what just happened. What it means," Draco softly squeezed his hand.

"You do realize that it's – I don't know what time, but definitely after midnight?"

"We're not gonna wake up anybody," Draco rolled his eyes as he opened the door to the library. Harry stopped short.

"What?" Draco quirked one perfect eyebrow.

"This is so Hermione-ish."

"She's not the only one who goes to the library to find out what she wants to know," Draco chuckled and pulled him with him. He pulled out some books and soon they were both engrossed in the explanations and implications of magical bonding.


	17. Chapter 17

_Chapter 17_

"Harry? Draco?"

Both heads snapped up from the old book they were reading together when they heard the voice from the hallway.

"In the library!" Harry called out at Hermione. "What are you doing here?"

"Andromeda flooed to the Burrow to ask and check up on you. You were supposed to get Teddy, remember?" her voice got closer and she appeared in the doorway. "What happened here?" she asked with big eyes, taking in the scene. "And please do tell me that you're both wearing pants."

Harry was sitting on Draco's lap in a comfy armchair, the big book open over their laps. They were both looking thoroughly ... shagged. But besides that, there was something indefinable about them, about the way their bodies moved in synchronization as they stood up.

"We got bonded," Harry told her, wonder back on his face as Draco wrapped his arms around him from behind.

"Bonded?" Hermione frowned. "Uhm, congratulations. This morning?"

"Morning?" Draco said puzzled, then cast a 'Tempus'. "How long have we been in here?" he looked at Harry when they found out it was well after noon.

"All night and all morning I guess," Harry frowned back, then turned to Hermione. "Last night."

"Well, congratulations to both of you," she said stiffly.

"What's wrong?" Harry said when they followed her out of the room.

"Why didn't you tell anybody? Us?" She obviously meant her and Ron.

"It's not like that," Draco shook his head.

"You still hate -"

"Hermione," Harry grabbed her arm. "It happened spontaneously."

That stopped her. "Like, you two got bonded in a spur of the moment?"

"Have you ever heard of spontaneous bonding?" Draco asked her. He was pretty sure that she had done research about bonding now that she and Ron got engaged.

"Nooo," she said awed. "That happens – well I don't know exactly how often it happens. But it's rare."

"Do I ever do something the normal way?" Harry chuckled.

"That's incredible! And it can only happen after both partners open up totally, emotionally, consummate love and exchange vows ..." her voice trailed off as she looked at the two men, realizing that's exactly what they must have done.

"We know now," Harry smiled, "but we didn't know before it happened. Did you know that it's official? Legally and all?"

"Yeah it's just as official as a wedding. There are traces of magic on both of you now that will always identify your bond," she nodded her head amazed.

"You can be proud of us. We went straight to the library to find out everything about it," Draco teased her. She had the decency to blush when her eyes travelled over their almost-naked bodies.

"Why don't you two get dressed first?"

"Let's take a shower before we get dressed," Draco grinned and kissed Harry's neck. The skin still smelled and tasted of sweat and sex.

"Good idea. Call Ron over here, will you? I wanna tell him too," Harry smiled brilliantly. "And after that we can go over to Andromeda and -" he stopped talking mid-sentence. "Hermione, we don't want to tell everybody that we bonded spontaneously."

"Everybody can know that we got bonded, but the way it happened is personal, you know?" Draco gave her a sharp look.

"Yes of course. I totally agree," she nodded quickly. "Not everybody has to know that you two have the advantages of spontaneous bonding. You know about that, don't you?"

"Come on," Draco pulled his lover's hand to drag him upstairs.

"I know. We've been reading up _all night _Hermione. Did you also know that there's one type of bonding that's even more rare?"

* * *

Draco felt a smile spread over his face when he entered the kitchen one early Saturday morning. Harry was still in his pajamas, absentmindedly chewing on his toast and staring at the newspaper. He was obviously not awake yet, and positively adorable.

"Hey you," the blonde leant over and kissed Harry's stubbly cheek. His face lit up in a warm smile as he kissed him back.

"Why did you leave the bed?" Draco asked when he poured himself some coffee.

"Teddy insisted that he got breakfast at bloody six o'clock. And I didn't want him to wake you up," Harry grumbled.

"And still you insist that he spends the whole week here."

"I'm starting to regret it. If it means I don't have a chance of getting one of those wonderful morning-shags."

Draco chuckled and pressed another kiss to Harry's cheek when he got up to make them a proper breakfast. "I promise I'll make it up to you in the evening. When the brat's sound asleep. Where is he, by the way?"

As on command, they heard loud noises coming from the living room. They found Teddy chasing a distraught owl through the room, knocking over everything that was in his way.

"Teddy! Stop that!" Harry called out, but the kid didn't even look up. Draco laughed loudly and picked the boy up by his collar.

"How's my favorite purple-haired boy doing?" he pulled him into his arms. Teddy's hair instantly turned bright yellow, making both men laugh. Draco made his way over to the ornate mirror hanging over the cabinet. "What color is this?" he softly tugged the yellow spikes.

"Puple!" the boy said proudly.

"No. It's yellow," Draco corrected him, prompting him to change his hair to a violent orange.

"Puple?"

"No, not purple. Orange."

"Me want o-ange juuce!"

"If you stop chasing the owl," Harry said in a stern voice when he handed Draco the piece of parchment that he'd taken from the handsome owl. Teddy pouted at him, his lower lip protruding in a most adorable way.

"It's aunt Narcissa's owl. What will she say if she hears that you chased her owl?"

Big tears welled up in the boy's eyes when he looked at Harry.

"Come on. I'll get you some orange juice," Harry took the boy from Draco's arms and carried him to the kitchen.

"Harry? Mother asks if she can visit," Draco followed him shortly after.

"Sure. When?"

"She asks us to send the time. During Teddy's nap this afternoon?"

"Fine. Nothing's wrong, is it?" Harry stepped close to his boyfriend when he'd gotten Teddy his drink and he settled down in his chair.

"I don't think so. We asked her repeatedly to come over, remember?"

* * *

"Hello Mother," Draco rose from his seat when his mother stepped out of the Floo in the living room. He kissed her cheek when she hugged him fondly, then quickly backed away. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes," she smiled softly. "Your father and I are doing fine. I just wanted to visit my son. Sons. Where's Harry?"

Draco laughed relieved. "Teddy's supposed to take a nap right now, but by the sounds of it, Harry's still chasing him."

"He doesn't want to get into bed?"

"No threat or promise can get him to get into bed willingly in the afternoon. But he's horrible later if he doesn't sleep now," Draco shook his head.

"You tried?" his mother asked amused.

"We tried everything."

"No Teddy! Not the hallway!" they heard Harry call out exasperated, followed by shrieking sounds.

"What is that!" Narcissa called out shocked at the sound of the mental voice that was shouting profanities down the hallway. She followed her son to the source of the pandemonium, where he tried to shut the curtains over the drawing of Sirius' mother.

"Aunt Walburga!" Narcissa said astonished. The old woman in the painting ceased the swearing for a few seconds to squint down at the blonde woman.

"Don't you remember me? Narcissa Black?"

"Finally! A pureblood has returned to the house!"

Narcissa looked at her aunt insulted. "My son Draco is a pureblood! And he has been living here for quite a while!"

"But he consorts with bloodtraitors, Mudbloods and halfbreeds! Not to mention that he lives here together with another _man_!" the old woman shrieked besides herself.

"Aunt Walburga! It is not fit for someone of the noble house of Black to utter such language!"

"Mother, it's no use trying to talk to her. Believe me, I've tried," Draco muttered. Harry glanced at his defeated face before he hurried upstairs with a terrified Teddy in his arms. They'd cleared the whole house of all dark objects and things they didn't like, but the painting of Walburga Black was the one thing they didn't know how to get rid of.

* * *

The next Saturday Narcissa visited them again. "Mother! I didn't know you still had that!" Draco called out as soon as he spotted the book in her hands.

"Of course," she smiled up at her son, "this was the only thing that I could bribe you with to take your afternoon nap."

"You'd better give it to Harry now, because Teddy's refusing to sleep once again," Draco chuckled, hearing the racket the little boy was making. Narcissa smiled and followed her son upstairs. She saw that Harry had just managed to get Teddy into his bed, but when he got up to greet her, the little boy escaped within a second. Harry blushed, embarrassed by the fact that she witnessed how he couldn't get the three-year-old to stay in his bed.

She handed Harry the book with children's stories with a wink. "Read him one story, he'll love it. Read him a story every day if he promises to go to sleep after that."

"It worked for me, I loved the stories," Draco chuckled. "It's my old book."

Teddy peeked around the corner to see why none of the adults had come chasing after him yet. When he saw Narcissa still standing in his bedroom, he backed away quietly. She was always nice and smiling, but he couldn't forget that this woman was living with that horrible old man in the big house. Once Andromeda had found out that Teddy was terrified of Lucius, she'd stopped taking him to the Manor, but it was enough to get Teddy on his guard every time he saw Narcissa.

"I will try and talk to Mrs. Black. You two read him a story," she smiled, but just before she turned away Draco noticed a sad look in her eyes when she looked at the little boy.

"What was your favorite one?" Harry was already reading the book.

Draco settled himself down on Teddy's bed comfortably and skipped to one of the most grubby pages. The little boy quickly returned to his bedroom when Narcissa had left and Draco started reading the story out loud. Teddy's mouth was hanging open when he heard him telling about a boy and a dragon. Harry smiled tenderly as he lifted the boy into his bed and he snuggled up to Draco immediately. Harry settled himself on the floor next to the bed, dividing his attention to the moving pictures in the book and the two persons that he loved more than anything in the world.

Life couldn't get more perfect than this, could it?


	18. Chapter 18

_Chapter 18_

Several months passed. It soon became a routine that Narcissa visited every Saturday afternoon and Teddy had come to live at Grimmauld Place permanently when Andromeda's mental health decreased quite suddenly. Apparently the war and the death of her husband and daughter had affected her more than anybody had ever known. She moved to the Malfoy Manor and under the care of Narcissa she recovered slowly but surely.

Draco had started his Potions study and everything was going well, but somewhere in the back of his mind there was this nagging feeling that the happiness of his little family with Harry and Teddy would be disturbed soon. He got an uneasy feeling in his stomach every time he saw the fleeting sadness in his mother's eyes when she watched them play with Teddy. His fear got confirmed when his usually well-composed mother appeared one stormy Friday evening.

"Mother! What's wrong?" Draco called out shocked when his mother stepped out of their fireplace in the living room. She looked like a nervous wreck!

"Don't worry, everybody's fine. But there's something I need to tell you. Where's Harry?"

"He's taking a bath with Teddy."

"It can wait until Teddy's in bed. I want Harry to hear me too," she sank down on the couch. Draco shot her another worried look before he went upstairs to speed the boy's bedtime up a little.

He stopped in the doorway to the bathroom. A tender smile settled on his face when he watched his lover in the big bathtub with the toddler. The walls and Harry's hair were covered in white clogs of foam. A pang of jealousy went through his heart when he noticed that Teddy had managed to turn his hair the exact same color as Harry's. He looked like Harry's baby-brother ... or his son. The jealous feeling immediately got replaced by guilt when he remembered that his mother was downstairs. Upset.

"Daddy!" Teddy cried out happily when he noticed the blonde leaning in the door.

"Hello big boy! What did you do to daddy Harry?" Draco smiled and stepped inside, lifting the boy from the bath and wrapping him in a big towel.

"Daddy Haggy white hair!" he cried out triumphantly, trying to reach the bath to grab more foam.

"Mother's downstairs. She has something to tell us, she's quite upset," he said to Harry in an undertone while toweling the toddler dry.

"Is something wrong?"

"I don't know. She says everybody's okay, she's waiting until he's asleep," Draco nudged his head at Teddy who was attempting to put toothpaste on his toothbrush by himself.

Harry quickly rid himself from the foam and disappeared to the bedroom to get dressed. When Draco had hoisted the boy into his pajamas and brushed his teeth successfully, Harry reappeared. He took the storybook and settled down with Teddy on his bed. "Go to mother, I'll read the story."

"No! I want daddy Dlaco!" Teddy's hair turned a flaming red.

Draco rolled his eyes and took Harry's place, but the toddler didn't agree with that either. "Daddy Haggy-y-y!" he whined, struggling to get out of his bed.

"What do you want Teddy?" Harry suppressed a sigh and knelt down next to the bed. The boy pouted his best pout and looked from Harry to Draco and back.

"You want us to read you the story together?" Draco and Harry exchanged a look, knowing that it would be quickest just to get along with his wishes for tonight.

"Yes!" he cried out triumphantly, his hair settling back to his usual happy blonde-pink shade.

"Okay. Lie back down Teddy," Harry settled in the V of Draco's legs and felt his boyfriend press a soft kiss to his cheek when he started telling the story. Draco quickly picked up, doing all the special voices of the characters. They had Teddy breathless as usual when the story ended.

"Sleep well Teddy. Love you," Harry kissed the little boy goodnight. Draco copied the exact same ritual and Teddy snuggled into his pillow contented.

* * *

"I have a baby-sister!" Draco called out astonished.

"Yes. Well, she's not a baby anymore, she will turn five in two months," Narcissa nodded, her hands fidgeting in her lap.

"And you gave her away! You always wanted more children!"

"Draco, I had no choice! The Dark Lord was gaining power, and he came to live at our house! That was no place for a baby! She would be better off in a foster family."

"And you kept it a secret from me?" Draco's voice was getting louder by the minute, his grey eyes turned dark in anger as the lights around them flickered and dimmed.

"I had no choice! Nobody knows, except for your father and me. I was lucky I gave birth before Bellatrix joined us. And the Dark Lord was torturing you so much already, I couldn't possibly burden you with this secret. And you were at Hogwarts anyway," Narcissa was crying silently.

"Which family is raising her now? Relatives in France?"

"No," she raised her sad grey eyes to meet her son's. "A Muggle family."

"A MUGGLE FAMILY!"

"Draco!" Harry stood up in front of his lover and put both his hands on his shoulders to make him sit back down. "Calm down. It is not so bad to be raised by Muggles."

Draco snorted loudly. "No? And you're the lightening example?"

"No, my relatives were horrible to me. But I'm sure mother found a nice foster family for your little sister. And at least she got to grow up away from the war and all the disaster it left when it ended."

"Yes, yes, I wanted her to have a chance of a happy life. I knew the war would end badly for our family," Narcissa's voice grew a bit stronger.

"It turned out far better than it could have been," Draco said through gritted teeth. "You could have brought her back after the war ended."

"No, I was placed under house-arrest for a long time. And then Lucius came home ... he gets into this horrible moods ... sometimes he can't even control his magic. The Manor is not a suitable place for a little girl."

"What's her name?" Harry turned to her.

"Amarante."

"Have you been in touch with Amarante's family?"

"Yes. They keep me updated on her. She started attending school eight months ago," Narcissa's eyes filled with new tears.

"Have you ever seen her? Since her birth?"

She shook her head sadly. "They sent me pictures. And I have their phone number. That's –"

"I know what a phone is," Harry smiled. "Draco? Would you like to pay your sister a visit?"

Draco shook his head, obviously in shock about the news.

"We don't have to tell her who we are or talk to her. Just pay her house a visit, talk to her parents, get to see her," Harry continued in a friendly tone.

"Why did you tell me now?" Draco turned to his mother, his eyes suddenly frighteningly focused.

"The secret was eating me up from inside. Every time I see Teddy it reminds me of the girl. She's less than two years older than him."

* * *

"Welcome! Come in, come in. I'm sorry about the mess, but –"

Harry laughed softly when the woman who opened the door for them observed their crisp clean clothes. "Thank you Mrs. Mitchell. Don't worry, we're raising my godson and he's a three-year-old. We know what a mess he makes," he smiled reassuringly at the middle-aged woman and squeezed Draco's hand softly to make him follow him inside. "I'm Harry Potter," he shook her hand, curiously taking in the house.

"And you must be Mr. Malfoy," the woman smiled and shook the blonde's hand.

"Draco Malfoy," he nodded and smiled nervously. They followed the woman to the large kitchen where she handed them both a steaming mug of tea and a plate of home-made cookies.

"It was quite a surprise to hear that Ammy has relatives other than her parents. Now I understood that you -"

The woman was cut off by the backdoor opening and five laughing and yelling and playing children burst in, followed by a man with a permanent grin stuck to his face. He reminded Harry strongly of Ron and he decided he liked Amarante's foster parents a lot. Before he could stand up to introduce himself to the man, he noticed that Draco and a small girl were staring at eachother.

This was without any doubt his sister. She had the same silvery blonde hair and grey eyes.

"Hello. I am Amarante," the girl politely held out her hand to Draco, who shook it gently.

"I am Draco."

"You look like me."

"Yes," Draco nodded and looked around helplessly.

"Come on Ammy, let's get you into some clean clothes," the man scooped her up in his arms. "We've been to the playground, it's a bit muddy there at the moment," he grinned at Harry and Draco.

"Well. She never behaved like that before! She's always quiet, withdrawn," Mrs. Mitchell said astonished when all the children stumbled up the stairs.

"She seems quite clever for her age," Harry observed.

"Oh yes she is! She's quite an unusual girl."

"Unusual?" Draco asked, his voice trembling slightly.

"Yes. Not in a bad way, but ..."

"Draco is her brother. And he is also a bit unusual, so you can tell us," Harry said in his friendly, comforting voice.

"Brother? I should have guessed! She looks so much like you," she nodded absentmindedly and stood up to refill their drinks. "Ammy is clever, and very perceptive. She usually keeps to herself, doesn't play much with other children, they tend to upset her and then ... Well when Ammy is really angry or sad, everybody around her feels the same. Things tend to escalate when everybody in the room gets angry at the same time. It's like her mood is contagious. And sometimes she breaks things that are quite impossible to break. Not intentionally, never. She's a very sweet girl."

"She has got something like a sixth sense?" Harry avoided to look at his boyfriend. They both knew what this meant. Amarante was definitely a witch and at this age she was not able to control her magic yet.

* * *

"Are you ready Teddy?"

The boy nodded his head seriously as he looked up at his daddies, his brown hair messed up by the wind. They had been practicing with him for months to keep the same hair color hours on end, even when he got upset or excited. And today they would put it to a test.

"You want to ring?" Draco lifted him up so he could press his chubby finger to the bell. They could hear it ringing a merry melody inside, followed by one set of excited children's feet and one slower, heavier set.

"Good afternoon. Come in," Mr. Mitchell smiled at them as he opened the door. Behind him Amarante peeked around his legs.

"Hey! You haig like daddy Dlaco!" Teddy pointed an accusing finger at the girl.

"Yes Teddy, her hair is just like Draco's," Harry gently pushed the outstretched arm down. "But it's not polite to point."

"Hello Mr. Mitchell, Amarante." They all shook hands, Teddy making up for his mistake by shaking their hands with a serious look on his face.

"Go and play," Mr. Mitchell gently pushed the girl to the living room where she settled down in a corner with toys. Teddy followed her quickly, investigating everything with big, interested eyes.

Within a few minutes he came running back crying. "Daddy!"

Draco hoisted him up on his knee. "What's wrong big boy? Why the tears?"

Mr. Mitchell hurriedly searched for a tissue, but Draco didn't even flinch when Teddy buried his wet face and running nose in Draco's crisp white button-down shirt.

"You're making daddy Harry and me very proud. Your hair is still brown," Draco whispered in his ear, but it only caused new tears to well up.

"She say I not have two daddies!" he pointed a trembling hand at Amarante.

"Of course you can have two daddies," Draco said reassuringly. "Why do you think he can't?" he asked the girl friendly.

"It's not fair! I don't have a father and he has two!"

"Come here Ammy. You have me and aunt Maggie. And other children have a mother and a father, and Teddy has no mother but two fathers," Mr. Mitchell explained the girl and pulled her on the couch between them.

"What is your name?" she pulled a harsh face when she looked at Draco.

"Draco."

"Your last name," she demanded. Mr. Mitchell cringed when he heard the authoritative voice from the little girl.

"Malfoy."

"My name is also Malfoy. And you look like me. You should be my father!"

Harry felt anger build inside him when he saw her angry face. Just in time he remembered her foster mother telling that Ammy's mood was contagious.

"Draco. Occlumency," he said in an undertone, hoping that it would shield him from the angry feelings. Harry took some deep breaths and put a comforting hand on Mr. Mitchell's arm, shaking his head slightly. He saw the anger leave the man's face as he also realized that it was Ammy's mood that caught them all.

"Teddy? Why don't you go and see if there are more cookies in the kitchen," he instructed the little boy. Teddy obediently hopped off Draco's knee and left the room, still sniffing a little.

"Ammy? I am not your daddy. But do you know why I look like you?" Draco said after a few seconds, when he had his emotions under control.

"Why?" the angry grey eyes stared at him.

"Because I am your brother."

"Really? My real brother?"

"Yes, your real brother."

"And do you live with your mother and father?"

"No. I am too old to live with a mother and father. That is why I live with Harry, and we're daddy to Teddy," Draco explained her.

"And when you were young, like me? Did you live with your mother and father?"

"Yes, I did."

"Your father and mother are my mother and father? Right?" she demanded to know.

"Yes, they are."

"Why can't I live with them? I'm not too old to live with my mother and father."

"Because father is very ill. He cries and shouts and breaks things. He would only make you scared," Draco said with a pained look on his face.

"Ammy?" Harry said softly. "Don't you like living here? With your uncle? And aunt Maggie?"

"Yes, they are very nice," she admitted in a soft voice, "but I am the only one with this stupid hair and this stupid name!"

"I think it's the most beautiful hair in the world," Harry stroked her blonde hair.

"No you don't."

"Yes I do," Harry repeated, looking straight into the grey eyes. When he looked away, he noticed that Draco was blushing slightly.

"What?" Harry grinned. "It's true!"

Draco shoved him embarrassed, then turned back to the girl. "Who says that Malfoy is a stupid name?"

"The other kids at school," she grudgingly admitted.

"Well, you know what you can tell them? It's better to be a nice girl with a stupid name, than to be a stupid girl with a nice name."

Amarante stayed silent for a while after Draco's words, but then her face lit up in a big smile. "Yes. I will tell them," she said officially.

"The weather is clearing up. Go on, play in the garden," Mr. Mitchell nudged her.

"Will you come too?" she looked at Draco and Harry expectantly.

"Sure. We'd better find Teddy before he wrecks the whole kitchen though," Draco stood up quickly, holding out his hand to the little girl to follow him.

"You sure know how to handle her mood. It's amazing," Mr. Mitchell stopped Harry for a second.

"What can I say. She's a lot like Draco."

* * *

When they got home in the evening, Draco went upstairs to get Teddy into bed. Harry paced the living room a few times, then resolutely stepped up to the fireplace and threw a handful of Floo powder into it.

"Malfoy Manor, Narcissa's quarters," he said clearly as he put his head in the flames.

"Mother?" he called when the back of her chamber screen came into view. After a few seconds he heard hasty footsteps come his way and the screen was removed.

"Harry," she smiled fondly. "Is everything alright?"

"Yes, everybody's doing fine." They exchanged news for a few minutes.

"Was there any particular reason you Floo-called?"

"Uhm, yes. I wanted to ask you something," Harry said hesitantly.

"Go ahead Harry," she smiled reassuringly.

"I was wondering if you know about ... controlling moods. I mean, I've never heard of someone who can influence other people's mood, but today I experienced it. Is it – uncommon?"

"It depends on the age of the wizard. It's not so uncommon in very young wizards. What happened when you were young, if you were very angry?" she said interested.

"The lights went out, or things broke. Once I grew my hair back when I was very angry that they'd cut it."

She laughed at that, but then her face became serious again. "In children their magic comes out in unexplainable, unpredictable ways. It can change the mood of all people in the room."

"It happens more often? You know anybody ..." Harry's voice trailed off. He thought he already knew her answer.

"Lucius had the same when he was young, and Draco also. That's why we always taught him to control his mood so strictly when he got out of the house. If the wizard doesn't learn to channel his magic in other ways, situations can get out of control very easily."

"Why didn't he tell me?"

"Draco probably thinks it's normal. He didn't play much with other children before he went to school. Or it never crossed his mind to tell you about it," she shrugged, but then her face became thoughtful. "You've seen it in ..."

"Amarante, yes," Harry nodded. They'd told her and Lucius both times in advance that they went to visit their daughter. Narcissa didn't want to visit her herself, afraid that she wouldn't have the strength to say goodbye to the girl.

"She got angry?" Narcissa asked in a soft, sad voice.

"She heard that Teddy has both Draco and me. That he has two daddies. Of course we couldn't explain that he doesn't have any parents, that we adopted him. She got jealous, and then angry. We realized just in time that we were feeling angry just because she was angry."

"What did you tell her?"

"Draco told her that he's her brother and that she can't live here because Lucius is ill."

"And she calmed down?"

"Yes. Do you think the Mitchells can ... take good care of her?" Harry hardly dared to ask.

"They are good people and they love her. But I know what you're asking Harry. She would be better off in a wizard's family. But we can't possibly take her back in. She could get hurt. Lucius –" her voice broke and she shook her head.

"I'm sorry mother. I really am," Harry said sincerely. "You want me to come over?"

"It's okay Harry. Go back to Draco, I'll see you tomorrow. There's nothing you can do about it," she shook her head and blew a kiss at him.

Harry withdrew his head from the Floo and straightened up. "We'll see about that."

* * *

"Where's the birthday girl?" Harry said loudly when he stepped into the garden of the Mitchells.

"My birthday party was yesterday," the blonde girl scowled, but then her face broke out in a grin when Harry picked her up and swung her around in circles. He put a loud kiss on her cheek and hugged her closely before he set her back down on her feet. "Happy birthday Ammy. Draco and Teddy are inside."

"Why didn't you come yesterday?" her fierce stare surprised Harry. She was so young, and already acting so mature.

"Yesterday you were playing with all your friends. And we wanted you all to ourselves," Harry winked at her. She seemed pleased with this answer and she led the way inside.

"Teddy has a gift for you. He picked it out himself," Harry told her when they took off her muddy shoes and coat and washed her hands.

Her pale nose wrinkled. "He's a small boy. Almost a baby."

"He started going to school. He's not so much a baby anymore, Amarante. You should ask him to make a drawing," Harry looked into the grey eyes.

"Why?"

"You'll see," he suddenly swung her up over his shoulder so she screamed out in laughter. He carried her to the living room and dropped her in Draco's lap.

"Oumph," Draco huffed. "She's way too big for that. Look at her!" he made her stand up tall and winked at her. She giggled and he pulled her in for a hug.

"Happy birthday Ammy."

When Draco released her, she turned expectantly to Teddy. He shuffled his feet and looked at the floor shyly, the gift behind his back. "For you," he suddenly said and pushed the wrapped up package in her hands, then hid behind Draco's back. Draco laughed and pulled the boy on his lap, wrapping his arms around him protectively.

Harry gestured the girl to come to him when he saw her jealous look. "I'm much stronger than Draco. You can sit on my lap. Unless you think you're too old for that now," he smiled. She quickly shook her head and climbed on his lap, quickly tearing the paper from the package.

"A book?" her eyes got wide when she saw the stories and the colorful drawings.

"You like it?" Draco asked her.

She nodded vigorously, holding it out to Harry. "A story!"

"You want me to read to you now?" he grinned. "Okay, one story. And after that you and Teddy can go play together."

Both kids listened breathless to the fairytale. Teddy didn't know the story either, because they'd obviously bought a Muggle book.

When Harry went to check on the two kids an hour later, he stopped in the doorway surprised. He instantly regretted that he'd told Ammy to ask Teddy for a drawing. "Sweet Merlin," he muttered and gestured Draco to come and have a look. He hoped none of the Mitchells would come in, or they'd have to perform a Memory charm.

On the table was a big drawing, made by Teddy. Even at his young age, he was brilliant and it was quite obvious who he'd drawn. Kreacher.

But that wasn't the disturbing part. Both kids were standing, facing eachother. Ammy had her eyes closed, her face screwed up in total concentration. Teddy was egging her on, his huge pointed ears flapping when he moved his head. He had obediently kept his hair the brown color that he had whenever he went outside, but he had transformed his ears into the house-elf's big ears, including the fluffy white hair that grew out of it.

Draco couldn't help laughing when he took in the scene. Both kids looked up and Teddy instantly changed his ears back to normal.

"You know you're not allowed to do that outside the house," Harry said in a stern voice, kneeling down to the boy's height to look into his eyes. Teddy lowered his eyes, his lower lip jutting out quite adorably.

"Why can't I do that?" Ammy said in a displeased voice.

"We can't do that either," Draco took her hand and took her outside to the garden. "Only Teddy can do that."

"Why?"

"Because he's special. I think you're special too. I bet you can do things that other children at school can't," he sat down on the swing next to her.

She nodded slowly, her eyes searching his face. "Can you do special things too?"

"Yes, and Harry too. It's a secret, so don't tell anybody," he bent closer to her, in a conspiring way.

"Okay," she whispered awed. "I can make things _move_. Without touching them!"

"And there's nobody else who can do that?" Draco made his eyes look all big and impressed. She shook her head hard.

"Then that's a secret too. If there's something that only you can do, it's a secret," Draco whispered.

"So Teddy's funny ears is a secret too?"

"Yes, that's a secret too."

"Okay. I won't tell anybody. I'm good at keeping secrets," she nodded her head solemnly.

"Of course you are. That's because you are a Malfoy. And you're special."


	19. Chapter 19

_Chapter 19_

"Harry?" Draco whispered and wrapped his arms around his lover, who grunted and opened his eyes.

"I think the kids are still asleep. And it's Sunday morning," Draco pressed a kiss to his lips.

"Really?" Harry woke up at once. "Does that mean ..." he wiggled his eyebrows.

"Oh yes that means a morning-shag," Draco wiggled his eyebrows in the same way, grinning cheekily.

"Good. We haven't had the chance in ages. Teddy never sleeps late. Sure he's still asleep?"

"The wards haven't gone off, so they're both definitely still in their room. But it's no wonder, they were both knackered last night," Draco nuzzled his neck, his hand creeping under Harry's shirt.

Yesterday Amarante had come to live with them permanently. After long discussions, they'd decided to tell her right away that she was a witch. It didn't take long to convince her, but then she wanted to know exactly all the things they could do. Of course Teddy started showing off, changing his hair color, nose and ears all the time. He hadn't managed to change anything else of his appearance yet, but it was impressive enough to make the girl show off all that she could do. She moved some items on the table, but then she accidentally knocked over a glass of water. Before the startled girl could do anything, Draco had lazily flicked his wand and put the glass back together and filled it again. That thoughtless act had brought about a whole new round of questions and they'd tried to explain to her until everybody was exhausted. Draco and Harry had gone to bed not long after the two kids were asleep.

So now they had the rare opportunity to enjoy time together without interruptions.

"Well look who's awake," Harry murmured and ground his leg to Draco's erection.

"Hmmm. Aren't you?" the blonde replied and quickly discarded all their clothes. With a cheeky grin he disappeared underneath the sheets. Harry chuckled deep in his throat when he felt his lover's lips on his erection. "What happened to foreplay?"

"You don't need foreplay. You're always ready," Draco laughed softly, sending delightful vibrations through the dark-haired man.

Harry dove under the sheets and flipped the blonde on his back. "But I want foreplay. You could at least kiss me first."

"I was kissing you," he replied mischievously, his grey eyes travelling down again. "And I did kiss you."

"That wasn't a real kiss. I'll show you how it's done," Harry grumbled, then totally swept his lover away with a deep, passionate kiss.

"Wow," Draco said breathless. "What else will you show me?"

"Want me to show you how I can rock your world?" Harry said in his husky, turned-on voice.

"You remember how to top? It's been ages," Draco teased him, but then whimpered when his lover's mouth descended on him and teased his nipples into hard buds.

"I love you Draco."

"I love you too Harry."

* * *

"We have to get out," Harry mumbled sleepily when he heard the ward of Teddy's bedroom door buzz.

"You think we should take a shower first?" Draco sat up.

"Nah, we control the cleaning spells perfectly. Just put on your pajamas and check on the little brat."

"He's not so little anymore."

"Exactly. That's why you have to check what he's doing. Unless you want your potions' lab blown up. Again," Harry opened one eye.

"Me? You're coming too!" Draco pulled the sheets off his lover and jumped out of bed.

"I already came," Harry turned his face into the pillow.

"Tell me about it!" the blonde stretched himself and winced.

"Sorry honey," Harry leaned up on one elbow and stroked his lover's leg, 'accidentally' brushing his fingertips over the back of his knees. Draco's knees buckled and he swatted Harry's hand away indignantly. "Want to give me more injuries?"

"You're such a pussy. And you're perfectly capable of healing yourself," Harry summoned his boxers and pajamas, quickly put them on and sprinted to the hallway when he also heard the ward of Ammy's bedroom door. But instead of a blonde head coming out, he saw a pink head disappear inside. Harry peeked around the corner, then tip-toed back to his own bedroom. Draco just put away his wand and threw on his boxers and a shirt.

"I _did_ hurt you?" Harry said shocked, taking a step back.

The blonde approached him smiling and put a soft kiss on his lips. "Just pulled a muscle, I guess. But as you said, I'm perfectly capable of healing myself. What are the kids up to?"

Harry relaxed in his arms and grinned. "Come and see."

They burst out laughing loudly when they entered Ammy's room. Teddy had obviously collected his most prized possessions and dumped them in the middle of the floor, and now he was in the middle of a fanatical explanation about brooms, hovering a few inches above the ground on his toy-broom. Amarante was engrossed in a book, the moving pictures showing flying bludgers and a fluttering snitch.

Both kids looked up at the laughing men and Teddy toppled off his broomstick.

"Well it looks like we'll have to get you your own broom. Then we can teach you how to play Quidditch," Draco sank down to the floor elegantly, taking the book from his little sister's hands. "But first we're going to have breakfast."

Teddy couldn't leave the opportunity and took a sprint, jumping on Draco's back with an Indianan yell.

"Aren't you getting a bit too big for this?" Draco grumbled and stood up, the boy clinging to his back like a monkey. "You're five years old!"

Harry held out his hand to Ammy, who was looking up at them with big eyes. "Come on, let's get down to the kitchen."

She looked down shyly and mumbled something about getting dressed while Draco jogged out of the room, Teddy drumming on his shoulders happily.

"You don't have to get dressed before breakfast," Harry smiled at her. "Because it's weekend. If we want, we can walk around in our pajamas all day."

She giggled and took his hand, following him downstairs. "But today we won't do that. Because after breakfast, we're going to Diagon Alley to buy you a broomstick."

"Just like in the book?"

"Yes, just like that. You like the books?"

Draco looked around when they entered the kitchen and saw her nod, her eyes shining with excitement.

"Maybe we should get you a book too. With stories and pictures," he suggested.

"Moving pictures," Harry nodded.

"No-o! We're going to _fly_," Teddy whined.

"Maybe we can go to the Burrow afterwards?" Draco suggested. It had taken years, but now Ron and Draco were, well not exactly friends, but they were on friendly terms now.

"Uncle Ron!" Teddy cheered. "Daddy Harry and uncle Ron fly so fast! And they crash and sometimes they fall down!" the little boy demonstrated by running head-first into Harry's legs.

"Can you fly too?" Ammy climbed on a chair next to Draco.

"Draco can fly much faster than uncle Ron," Harry grinned and pressed a sloppy kiss on his lover's cheek.

"But you and daddy Harry don't crash!" Teddy pointed an accusing finger at the blonde.

"You want to see me fall down?" Draco said with an amused look. Teddy nodded his head vigorously and demonstrated falling down with a crash.

"But if I fall down, who's there to heal me?" the blonde asked.

Teddy threw Harry a thoughtful look, trying to remember if he ever saw him heal someone. "Aunt Mione!" he called out triumphantly.

"He's got a point there," Harry laughed.

"Let's see if we can round up enough people for a real match some time. I'm gonna play against you, and then we'll see who's laughing," Draco threatened.

"Brilliant idea. Then we'll see who's laughing."

"Diagon Alley!"

Harry watched Draco and Amarante disappear in the Floo. The girl's face was buried in Draco's robes and he had his arms around her protectively.

"Come on Teddy," Harry put out his arms to lift him up, but the boy protested.

"I can stand! Like Ammy!"

"She's bigger than you. And she's already seven years old," Harry shook his head.

"I can stand. I will hold your hand," he replied stubbornly.

"And then you sneak off and land in a different fireplace?" Harry raised his eyebrows. Teddy shook his head with an indignant look, but his cheeks flushed. He was always up to something mischievous.

"You're a naughty boy Teddy. Come on, or I'll leave you here with Kreacher," Harry held out his arms again. This time he obeyed and wrapped his arms around the man's neck tightly.

"Daddy Draco says I'm too big to carry."

"Yes but I'm _much_ stronger than daddy Draco of course," Harry grinned.

"I'm gonna tell him you said that!"

"You do that," he laughed and took some Floo powder.

"You look funny."

"I know. We've told you about this, remember? If daddy Draco and I look like ourselves, people want to make pictures of us," Harry nodded and put a kiss on the boy's nose, which promptly changed into a pig's nose. He chuckled and checked themselves in the mirror one last time to see if the glamour was holding all right.

"Diagon Alley!" he shouted and stepped into the Floo. They spun around through the darkness, until they landed in the popular shopping street. A man with lightbrown hair and brown eyes held out his hand to steady them. Harry almost backed away from him, until he remembered that this was Draco's glamour.

An amused smirk appeared on Draco's face as he took Teddy's hand, Ammy was already dancing ahead of him. "Took you long enough."

"Teddy thought he could stand in the Floo by himself," Harry rolled his eyes and laughed when Teddy pulled his indignant face again. The indignant look when they'd guessed correctly what he'd been up to.

"I think it's time to ask Mrs. Weasley how they managed to Floo with Fred and George when they were little. And we ought to increase the ward on the Floo powder, or he's gonna get in big trouble one of these days," Draco shook his head amused and let the boy go when they entered Flourish and Blotts. He immediately showed Ammy where the good books were.

"How many more years until he goes to Hogwarts?" Harry grumbled. "You think they will take him a few years early?"

"Don't let him hear that. Can you watch them for a minute? I wanna see if they have –"

But before he could finish his sentence, Teddy's voice sounded excitedly. "Daddy! Daddy!"

They both moved over to the two kids, who were looking at a story book with shining eyes of wonder.

"The Ouro- ourobo-" Ammy tried to read the title.

"The Ouroboros," Draco grumbled.

"Is this about you? It says 'The adventure of Harry and Draco'. That's you!" she pointed at both of them.

"This story is so cool! They kill the snake and set him on fire!" Teddy jumped up and down excitedly. They'd told him the story a thousand times, but they'd never bought him the book because they'd altered the story too much to their liking. The little boy opened the book eagerly to look at the pictures.

"That's daddy Harry!" he pointed out.

"And that's you!" Ammy said in her clear voice, pointing at Draco.

Before they knew what was happening, lights flashed around them. Teddy jumped in Draco's arms, his legs tightly wrapped around his daddy's waist and his arms around his neck so that Draco had both his hands free. They'd taught him to do this the first time they'd been ambushed.

"Damn paparazzi," Harry groaned and grabbed Amarante's hand, pulling her close to him. With his other hand he grabbed Draco's left hand. He'd already drawn his wand and looked at the photographers threateningly.

"Back off!" Draco snarled and miraculously they were able to reach the door and get outside.

But once outside it got much worse, the crowd swelled to enormous proportions within minutes.

"What are you looking at?" Draco growled at the nearest reporter.

"Who's the girl?"

Harry's eyes shot down to Ammy, who's hand he was still holding tightly. There was fear in her eyes, but she stood her ground and held her head high. Merlin, it couldn't have been more clear that she's a Malfoy!

"Let us through!" Harry said through clenched teeth and tried to make his way to the nearest exit.

"Draco Malfoy?" a man blocked their path, looking at both men. He couldn't figure out through the glamour which man was who.

"Back off!" Harry snarled.

"Is she your daughter?" the man said boldly, crossing his arms.

"Don't make me draw my wand!"

But Draco already had his wand pressed under the man's chin to make him back away.

"A young Malfoy?"

"She must be! Look at the hair and the face!" voices all around burst out in excited chatter, the crowd closed in around them. When a woman put her hand on Amarante's head, a vicious snarl ripped from Harry's throat and he was shaking in anger.

"BACK OFF! DON'T YOU DARE TOUCH HER!" Draco bellowed, making the closest people stumble backwards. The lines of people behind them kept on pushing forward though. Harry gripped his lover's hand more tightly and their eyes met when they heard a terrified sob from the kids. As their glamours disappeared, the emerald and grey eyes locked, both men unable to break the intense stare. They were both shaking with anger and the need to protect their little family, their linked hands trembling visibly. The trembling intensified and their hands started to emit a faint glow and the air started to crackle around them.

A forceful shockwave swept through the air, with Harry and Draco right in the center. It was as if they were the epicenter of an enormous earthquake. Like with a rock thrown into a lake, circles flowed outward, circles of people stumbling backwards, scrambling to get away.

Harry and Draco were unaware of the events around them, they could only stare into eachother's eyes. A faint greenish glow surrounded Draco at the same time that a ruby glow swirled around Harry's body. They felt their magic flow freely in their veins, emanating the shimmering color through their skin. When the magic directed itself to their linked hands, the crackling in the air intensified and their hands began to glow brighter and brighter.

A second shockwave erupted, but this one wasn't as devastating as the one before. It didn't knock people off their feet, it didn't make them flee. It filled them with a feeling of wondrous bliss so that they stopped and turned around to look at the two wizards.

The red and green glow around them started to mix, the air swirling and crackling over their skin. When the colors had mixed completely, it changed in a rapid succession, an outburst of all colors imaginable, until a different color started to spread out from their center. For a few seconds they were surrounded in one last color, then it faded and the two wizards seemed to come out of a trance. They stared into eachother's eyes a moment longer, then they threw a quick look at the amazed faces of their two kids.

Without a word the crowd parted to let them through to the nearest Floo point.


	20. Chapter 20

_Chapter 20_

The following morning found Harry and Draco in the kitchen in their usual pre-school ritual.

"Ammy's coming down in a few minutes and Kreacher's dressing Teddy," Draco informed Harry as he sat down next to him and kissed him tenderly. Harry nodded, pouring them both a coffee and unfolded the Daily Prophet.

"Check this out." 

'_**Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy cause uproar again**_

_Does spontaneous bonding of magic still exist?  
_

_Diagon Alley, London – Yesterday morning the famous Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy put up quite a show after they got ambushed by reporters. They were wearing a glamour, but Potter's godson and an unidentified girl who accompanied them, gave their identity away. 'The girl must be a Malfoy,' an eyewitness told the Daily Prophet. 'She had the hair and the face. It was quite a sight, but then everybody pushed up at them and Potter and Malfoy's glamours disappeared. It was a terrible sight, they were shaking with anger, and looked terrifying and powerful. Then there was an earthquake and everybody started to run for cover. When there was a second earthquake, it was ... it was like ...' Our eyewitness was unable to continue after this, but we found someone who has seen it all happening from a greater distance. 'A feeling of peace spread over everybody, and Potter glowed red and Malfoy glowed all green. Then the colors started to swirl and their hands looked like they were burning. It was magnificent!'_

_As Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, or the 'Malfoy-Potter family' as they call themselves since they got bonded, were unavailable for questions, we sought out Professor Urquhart, an authority in magical bonds. _

'_Bonding of magic is really rare, especially these days,' he tells us. 'The last time it happened is almost a hundred years ago. It only happens spontaneously, and only if the bodies of the two people in question have already bonded spontaneously. Even that is rare, as most wizards and witches bond in marriage. When two people's magic bonds, it can manifest in different ways. It's always preceded by a visible color around the separate bodies. If the two have the same color, it's likely that the color of the bond is the same. The bonding always happens in public, so that the world is warned about the nature of the bond. In 1576 a dark purple bond formed between a witch and a wizard, the start of four decades of terrorization. Not all bonds are bad though, that is why the final color is so important. In 1699 a silver bond formed between two witches, after which they've always felt a great need to protect the wizarding world. It was followed by nearly sixty years of peace. The individual colors also have great meaning.'_

_Of course we asked the Professor for the meaning of red and green. 'It depends on the shade. If the descriptions are accurate, the ruby glow means loyalty, innocence and courage.'_

"Innocence?" Harry raised his eyebrows.

Draco nodded. "There will always be innocence in your heart. It's in you, and in the way you grew up. With you it usually comes out in low self-esteem."

"Thanks," Harry snorted.

"It's better than my arrogance," the blonde grinned and stole a kiss. "Read on."

'_The green stands for pride and intelligence.'_

"Oh yeah. The pride comes out in arrogance," Harry snorted. "Or at least, it used to."

"Shut up," Draco said fondly, and pointed at the newspaper.

'_When the bond forms, the qualities of both witches or wizards combine. They both take over the other's magical abilities, while maintaining their own.'_

_We asked the Professor if this is what happened to Potter and Malfoy. Did they become twice as powerful? And isn't this bad news for the whole wizarding world? Potter already was powerful enough to survive the Killing Curse and finish off he-who-must-not-be-named. Wouldn't he get _too_ powerful now? And Malfoy has been a Death Eater, after all._

'_No. The evidence is clear, this is great news for the whole world. It has happened once before that a greater bond than the silver one was formed. Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy ... have formed a Golden Bond.'_

The article went on and on for pages, but Harry folded it away when they heard their two kids running down the stairs. They looked at eachother and shared a loving kiss. 

"Well this was bound to happen once. They reported the truth." 

~ The End ~


End file.
